Patheon Completes Liquid Manufacturing, Packaging Plant Expansion
This expansion, valued at over $2 million (Cn), encompasses two floors plus additional warehousing. The processing suite includes a primary 5,600-liter batching vessel suitable for the production of liquids, creams, ointments and gels. The vessel is complemented with a number of support vessels, pumps, milling and dearating equipment. This adds to the current processing capabilities of 5 primary and 12 secondary processing vessels resulting in a total batching capacity of 17,000 liters. This processing suite, in conjunction with a number of additional holding tanks, has increased Custom's total annual pharmaceutical liquids production to 3.8 million liters.
"This expansion serves us in two ways," said Patheon marketing director Laura MacDougall. "First, it expands our general liquid pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities: We now can make more product. In addition, the new Fort Erie facility improves our solvent-handling capacity, which will help us take on new business."
Patheon is indeed seeking to expand its horizons beyond liquid drug manufacture. The company's five Canadian plants specialize in the manufacture and formulation of liquid, solid, semi-solid, and powder dosage forms. Last month Patheon acquired a pharmaceutical plant from the Roche Group (Basel, Switzerland), located near Milan, Italy. This manufacturing/formulation site, which covers 300,000 square feet and employs 234 workers, specializes in sterile/injectable dosage forms, along with solid, semi-solid, and powder forms. In addition, the plant offers development capabilities for both sterile/injectable and solid dosage forms.
For a variety of sound business reasons, pharmaceutical companies are expanding vicariously, through contract manufacturers
In the ground floor area of the Fort Erie facility Patheon has added a new packaging suite, housing two additional packaging lines. One packaging line is a high speed bottling line suitable for filling, labeling and cartoning of containers ranging from 1 oz. to 10 oz. This line can operate up to 120 bottles per minute for an average annual output of 15,000,000 bottles. The second is a tube filling line consisting of two tube filters, cartoner and case sealing equipment. The addition of these two lines increases Custom's packaging capability to approximately 32 million units per year.
Patheon and its 48% owned Global Pharm affiliate operate five cGMP facilities in Canada, covering 500,000 square feet and employing over 700 people. Patheon serves 15 of the top 25 pharmaceutical companies in the world and trades publicly on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
For more information: Laura Macdougall, <%=company%> , Syntex Court, Operations, 2100 Syntex Court, Mississauga, Ontario L5N 7K9, Canada. Telephone: 905-821-4001. Fax: 905-812-6709.