Almac Group, a contract pharmaceutical development and manufacturing organization headquartered in Craigavon, Northern Ireland, has announced plans to expand its operations in Europe and North America and to increase its global headcount to reach 5,000 by 2017.

The company has said it will invest a further £20 million ($25 million) at Almac’s US headquarter site in Souderton, Pennsylvania to expand its existing 240,000-square-foot facility in addition to leasing a 26,000-square-foot office space in nearby Lansdale, Pennsylvania. This announcement follows the organization’s earlier announced investment of £4.2 million ($5.3 million) to expand its facility in Durham, North Carolina.

The new expansion project in Northern Ireland will create 312 new, full-time jobs across a range of functions and increases capabilities for its sciences, clinical services, clinical technologies and pharma services businesses. Almac received a funding proposal from the Department of Community and Economic Development that includes a £1.3 million ($1.6 million) Pennsylvania First Program grant and involves investment in new machine lines, computer equipment, software, and an expanded cold storage area.

Almac is also investing in the region £5 million ($6.3 million) to build an additional laboratory and office facility at its global headquarters site in Craigavon. Around 170 existing employees will be transferred to the new building. An additional £2 million ($2.5 million) is being invested in the development of the Arran Chemical Company facility in Athlone, Ireland which was acquired by Almac last year. The capital project will upgrade the existing site infrastructure and bring additional manufacturing capacity and assets on stream as well as more distillation and drying capabilities.

Together, the expansion plans facilitate growth of the Almac Sciences business for active pharmaceutical ingredient and chemical development services. In total, the Almac Group employs over 4,600 staff globally and is set to reach 5,000 by the end of 2017.

Meanwhile, Almac’s investment in its North Carolina facility will include the expansion of its clinical services along with the development of its diagnostics and clinical technologies operations based in the same area.

Source: Almac Group