Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai is all set to invest £8m at its Hatfield, Hertfordshire production plant in the UK to create an additional packaging facility.
Eisai Manufacturing, the company's UK manufacturing subsidiary operates the Hatfield plant, which serves as a global supply center for new products such as antiepileptic agent Fycompa.
The plant also functions as a production and packaging base for countries in Europe and will occupy a total floor space of about 2,900m2.
The investment will enable the company to bolster its production functions, specifically in regard to its packaging capacity at the Hatfield plant.
Eisai plans to handle the packaging of its investigational anticancer agent lenvatinib at the facility and will include a packaging area for handling highly potent compounds.
Set to begin in September 2013, the construction will be completed in mid-2014, with launch of operations planned for September 2014.
Eisai president Haruo Naito said the investment is a vote of confidence in the company's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Hatfield facility.
"The U.K. remains competitive as a location for advanced manufacturing and I am delighted that we are now able to expand our global center for packaging at Hatfield, home to our EMEA sales and marketing, R&D and manufacturing operations," Naito said.
