Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd., Japan's biggest pharmaceutical company, said Wednesday it will construct a plant to produce pharmaceutical bulk materials for making medicines in Ireland, to enhance its global production network.
The new plant, to be built in the suburbs of Dublin, will be Takeda's first such overseas plant, the company said. It currently produces bulk materials at a plant in Hikari, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
Takeda will invest approximately 80 million euro in the plant, with construction scheduled for October.
The plant is expected to become operational in 2004 and will produce bulk products to make drugs for clinical trials and drugs for the U.S. and European markets, including the diabetes medicine pioglitazone, whose product name is Actos, it said.
Takeda already has a pharmaceutical formulation and packaging plant in Ireland, Takeda Ireland Ltd.
The company said the new plant and the existing plant will be run as separate companies, with the existing company changing its name to Takeda Ireland Products Ltd. and the new company inheriting the Takeda Ireland Ltd. title, it said.