Eisai Co., Ltd.’s Chinese subsidiary, Eisai China Inc. (ECI) has decided to build a new oral solid dose (OSD) production facility (New Plant) at the site of its new Suzhou plant located within the Suzhou Industrial Park in order to relocate and expand its existing OSD production facility (Old Plant) within the same industrial park.

ECI has been producing OSD products such as Methycobal (methylcobalamin), Aricept (donepezil), and Pariet (rabeprazole) for the Chinese market at the Old Plant. However, in expectation of increased demand for Eisai products in the growing Chinese pharmaceutical market, the company said a new plant that will enable future capacity expansion aimed at strengthening the stable supply chain and improving production efficiency. ECI secured a new lot of land in 2010 within the same industrial park for the New Plant ,which is more than five times larger than the Old Plant, and in November 2014, a parenteral facility for the local production of injection products was established at this site as the New Plant.

This decision for construction at the New Plant follows the completion of the parenteral facility and involves the establishment of a new OSD production facility and an administration building. Expected to stand three floors aboveground and containing floor space of approximately 20,900 square meters, the new OSD facility will handle the manufacturing and packaging of oral solid dose products for the domestic Chinese market. Construction is scheduled to begin in first half of fiscal 2016 and finish during the second half of fiscal 2017, with operations to commence in the second half of fiscal 2018. Once operations have commenced at the new OSD facility, the Old Plant will be closed down.

Eisai said it regards its business operations in China as one of its core businesses after Japan and the United State and that strengthening its in-house production system in China through the establishment of the New Plant is intended to ensure the stable supply of products within China.

Source: Eisai