Zeneca To Invest $15 Million In Additional Production Capacity

Zeneca Pharmaceuticals is to invest L9.1 million ($15 million) in twonew bulk manufacturing plants at its Avlon site, near Bristol, UK. The company says it needs additional capacity following the recent launch of two new products, the asthma therapy Accolate (zafirlukast) and the antipsychotic drug Seroquel (ICI 204636).

Accolate, according to Zeneca, is now available in a number of countries, including Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Ireland, Mexico and the USA. A measure of its success, it adds, is illustrated by the number of patients administered with this new class of asthma drug; it is estimated that over 700,000 patients have now been treated with Accolate since its first launch in November 1996. Further regulatory approvals of the product are expected over the next few months.

Thus far, Seroquel is only approved in the USA and the UK, but Zeneca says that it is pursuing approvals to market the product in other countries.