LEADING pharmaceutical manufacturer, Aesica, is investing more than £4million in its Cramlington site to ensure it remains globally competitive and continues to pioneer new developments.
The investment, which will enable Aesica to update its technology and equipment across the Windmill Industrial Estate site, will safeguard the future of 130 employees.
The £4.2million cash injection includes £630,000 of support from the Regional Growth Fund, after a joint application was made by Northumberland County Council and Tyne and Wear Development Company, which successfully secured more than £17million for businesses across Northumberland, North Tyneside and Gateshead.
Kevin Cook, managing director, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, Aesica, said: “Our long term vision is to become one of the world’s leading suppliers of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) and to ensure we achieve that, continued investment into the Cramlington site is vital.
“The £630,000 of support we’re getting from the Regional Growth Fund will complement the significant investment we are currently making, which will allow us to upgrade technology and equipment across the site, enabling us to remain competitive on an international scale. It will also ensure we are at the forefront of new project development while providing long-term job security for our workforce.”
The announcement of the Regional Growth Fund support follows a successful period of expansion for Aesica, which has seen the company achieve significant sales in the US, bolstered by increased demand for both commercial and development scale APIs from large pharma and emerging biotechnology companies across America.
In addition the company was presented with two key awards at NEPIC’s annual awards dinner - for Dr Susan Daly who was given the Young Achiever Award for the pharmaceutical industry and Chief Executive, Dr Robert Hardy, who received the Outstanding Contribution Award.
Aesica also recognises the need to encourage young people to pursue careers in the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, and as such runs an apprenticeships programme, which currently employs two young people, one who is learning his trade as an engineer and the other who started in January as a warehouse apprentice.
Kevin added: “We’re a global company with our roots firmly in the North East and as such are committed to offering young people the chance to be part of our growing team. Our apprenticeship programme has proved a successful addition to the business and we will be looking at creating more opportunities in the future.”
To ensure Aesica maintains the momentum gained over the last 12 months, which has also seen it acquire manufacturing sites in Italy and Germany and double its workforce, the company has developed a five-year strategic plan which includes establishing a presence in India and acquiring manufacturing sites in the USA, enabling it to build on the considerable sales success achieved in 2011.