Almac Group, a Craigavon, Ireland-based contract development and manufacturing organization, plans to invest £30 million ($41 million) for a quality control laboratory and packaging facility for commercial drug products and a distribution center for clinical trial material supply at its facility in Dundalk, Ireland.

The investment includes a new quality control laboratory and packaging facility for commercial drug products and a 79,000-square-foot European distribution center for clinical trial material supply. This European campus is scheduled to be operationally ready by January 2019.

Almac previously secured new premises in Dundalk in January 2017 as part of its ongoing global expansion strategy and to address any potential challenges that may arise due to the UK exiting the European Union (i.e., Brexit). This Dundalk facility adds to the company’s existing clinical supply and drug-product development operations offered from the company’s global headquarters site in Craigavon, Northern Ireland. Almac says it has further investment plans to increase employee headcount in all these locations in the coming 18 months, including its global headquarters in Craigavon.

The Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), the pharmaceutical regulatory authority of Ireland, recently completed an inspection of the Dundalk facility of Almac Clinical Services Ireland and Almac Pharma Services Ireland. With successful inspections, Almac is licensed to conduct QP (qualified person) batch certification and release for both clinical trial material and commercial drug product from its campus in Dundalk.

Source: Almac Group