GSK Plans €500 Million Expansion of French Vaccine Plant

PharmaManufacturing.com
09/29/2006

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK; London, UK), one of the world’s leading vaccine manufacturers, announced Sept. 29 that it will invest more than 500 million Euros in its vaccine manufacturing plant in St. Amand-Les-Eaux, France, to increase production capacity in formulation, filling, freeze-drying and packaging.

The vaccine production facility in St. Amand-Les-Eaux, which is located close to Valenciennes, in the north of France, is the latest investment in GSK’s growing global vaccines industrial network and is expected to be operational in 2011.

St. Amand-Les-Eaux will contribute to the production of many of GSK’s innovative new vaccines under development, including Cervarix (a candidate vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer), and an "improved" flu vaccine to protect against seasonal influenza. GSK’s new meningitis vaccines will also be manufactured at this site, together with a pediatric vaccine designed to protect against Streptococcus pneumonia and non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae.

The new site will house a freeze-drying plant which will transform vaccines from a liquid into a solid powder. This very complex operation is used to enhance the shelf-life and stability of a number of GSK’s innovative vaccines. The site will also be equipped with a liquid plant for filling syringes and vials, a packing plant and warehouse, a power plant and quality control laboratories.

Jean-Pierre Garnier, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline, said: "The global market for vaccines is experiencing significant growth due to product innovation and a growing appreciation of the benefits of prevention over treatment. Our new vaccines which range from protection for infants through to the elderlyare expected to be strongly competitive and capture significant market share.”

Jean Stéphenne, President and General Manager of GSK Biologicals, added, “GSK’s vaccines business is enjoying explosive growth. We have a very potent pipeline with lots of new products covering pediatric vaccines for unmet medical need as well as new areas such as therapeutic vaccines in the area of cancer and allergy, thanks to innovative vaccine technologies that we believe put us ahead of the competition. We continue to be proud of the progress we have made in expanding our capacity to supply vaccines across the globe through investments to develop a unique global vaccines manufacturing network.”

GSK has been increasing its capacity to supply vaccines across the globe by developing a unique global manufacturing network, based on three major “hubs” in Europe, North America and Asia:

• In Europe, in July 2005, GSK invested € 94.3 million to double the production capacity for its Influsplit/Fluarix flu vaccine in Dresden, Germany. In September 2005, GSK opened its € 150 million state-of-the-art-facility in Gödöllö, Hungary, which is dedicated to the primary production of diphtheria and tetanus bacterial substances and whooping cough (pertussis) antigens used in several pediatric combination vaccines.



• In North America, in 2005, GSK made three important acquisitions. It acquired a secondary manufacturing site, based in Marietta, Pa., for cell-culture-based flu vaccines. It also purchased Seattle-based Corixa Corp., a developer of innovative products (adjuvants) that stimulate immunity. In December, GSK acquired ID Biomedical, which provides GSK with a significant increase in flu vaccine manufacturing capacity to address both seasonal and pandemic influenza threats.



• In Asia, in June 2006, GSK announced its first primary vaccine manufacturing plant in Singapore. The new vaccine plant is GSK’s biggest vaccine investment in Asia. The company will spend more than S$300 million over the next four years on the first phase of development of the plant dedicated to the primary production of pediatric vaccines.

About GlaxoSmithKline and GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals

GlaxoSmithKline is one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. GlaxoSmithKline is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. For company information, visit www.gsk.com.

GSK Biologicals, the vaccine division of GlaxoSmithKline, is one of the world’s leading vaccine manufacturers. GSK Biologicals is headquartered in Rixensart, Belgium, where the majority of GlaxoSmithKline’s activities in the field of vaccine research, development and production are conducted. GSK Biologicals employs more than 1,500 scientists, who are devoted to discovering new vaccines and developing more cost-effective and convenient combination products to prevent infections that cause serious medical problems worldwide. GSK Biologicals is also developing innovative immunotherapy compounds to treat cancer patients.

In 2005, GSK Biologicals distributed more than 1.2 billion doses of vaccines to 165 countries in both the developed and developing world, an average of three million doses a day.

In the next five years, GSK Biologicals expects to launch five major new vaccines: an HPV vaccine targeting cervical cancer, a vaccine against rotavirus-induced gastroenteritis (now licensed in 54 countries in addition to the European Union markets), a vaccine to prevent pneumococcal disease, an improved flu vaccine for the elderly, and several meningitis combination vaccines.

GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals has approximately 30 marketed vaccines, of which more than half are combination vaccines to protect children, adolescents and/or adults against between two and six diseases at the same time. The company also has a significant portfolio of new products, with approximately 20 vaccines in clinical development.