Recent Trends in the U.K. and Irish Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Sectors

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Researched by Protel Associates Limited in alliance with Industrial Info Europe (Galway, Ireland)--The current economic downturn is affecting all chemical and pharmaceutical companies in the United Kingdom and Ireland. There has been a noticeable slowing of larger projects in the pharmaceutical industry, although there are exceptions associated with the need to develop vaccines and other drugs to counter the pandemic swine flu threat.

Recent developments in the U.K.:

• Novartis Vaccines, a division of Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) (Basel, Switzerland), has begun a fast-track project with PM Group, an Irish engineering company, to build a facility for swine flu vaccines at Novartis' Speke plant in Liverpool. The project is progressing alongside other projects associated with increasing the production of seasonal flu vaccines at the site.
• GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE:GSK) (GSK) (Middlesex, England) has started a project to upgrade facilities in Montrose for the production of Relenza, a drug that alleviates flu symptoms.
• AstraZeneca plc (NYSE:AZN) (London, England) has begun developing a research and development Bioscience Centre site in Alderley Park, Cheshire.
• Novartis also has begun a project for production of the API for its Tekturna hypertension treatment at its Grimsby plant.

Recent developments in Ireland:

• Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE:SGP) (Kenilworth, New Jersey) has started a project for the development of carpoule-filling facilities in its Brinny biotechnology plant near Cork. A major steriles project at the same site is also under consideration, but may be reconsidered in light of the forthcoming merger with Merck, Sharpe & Dohme, a division of Merck & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MRK) (Whitehouse Station, New Jersey).
• The Irish Development Agency is understood to be actively seeking pharma/biotech companies for its Dundalk biotech park development.

General situation

The U.K. and Ireland are feeling the effects of a serious recession. Process projects appear to be far smaller than recent history would lead many to expect, although smaller projects, especially laboratory developments funded through government agencies or hospitals, are still relatively common. The Irish economy is particularly hard hit, as the U.K., which is Ireland's main export customer, has a weakening currency relative to the Euro, making such exports less competitive.

It is likely that the recent weakness of sterling will benefit the U.K. chemical and pharmaceutical production industries, which are largely export-orientated, but to date this has not had noticeable effect on capex projects.

Protel Associates is the leading provider of sales intelligence for equipment and service suppliers to the U.K. & Ireland Process Industries with particular emphasis on the Pharmaceutical/Biotech, Chemical and Food & Beverage sectors. Protel's information is researched, validated and confirmed by a highly skilled and experienced team to provide intelligence that is not otherwise available in the public domain.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news.