The Almac Group in Craigavon has confirmed an £11m investment to expand its global analytical services capabilities in a move that is adding an additional 100 jobs.
Almac’s sciences and pharma services divisions have jointly made the investment to expand their existing analytical laboratories, technology and resource to meet ongoing global demand.
Almac employs more than 700 highly skilled analysts working in regulatory approved laboratories across five locations in Craigavon, Charnwood in England, Souderton, Pennsylvania, and Athlone and Dundalk in the Republic.
Construction of new laboratory space at the company’s global headquarters in Craigavon considerably increases overall capacity, while additional upgrades and development of existing labs across all sites mean Almac will increase its existing global analytical employee headcount by more than 100 in the next 12 months.
Darren Thomas, vice president of analytical operations at Almac Sciences, said: “We’ve experienced a significant increase in demand for our dedicated analytical solutions and recognise the importance of continually investing, not just in our systems and facilities, but also in our people.
“We are committed to offering a best-in-class service to our global client base and are delighted to continue at pace with significant investment across our UK, EU and US facilities in order to strengthen our competitive position in the marketplace.”
Trevor Clarke, vice president of analytical operations at Almac Pharma Services, added: “We are positioned as the partner of choice with significant experience in a wide range of analytical services to meet the varying requirements of our clients’ unique development and commercial programmes.
“As we continue to expand our global analytical capabilities, we remain committed to delivering excellence. This significant investment in innovative technology, skilled talent, and state-of-the-art laboratories underscores our dedication to providing comprehensive analytical solutions for our clients worldwide.”
Almac supports drug substance and drug product analytics across all phases, from early phase pre-clinical / clinical development to commercial release.
It typically develops over 1,000 analytical methods and validates over 250 analytical methods each year.
