Amneal Purchases Manufacturing Site in Ireland

Amneal Pharmaceuticals, a US-based generic drug manufacturer, has purchased a 200,000-ft² facility in Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland, the company announced on July 31, 2015. The Cashel site will be dedicated to R&D and production of metered dose and dry powder inhalers as well as biosimilars. 

Amneal purchased the former Johnson & Johnson plant from owner Solidus Private Equity, a Singapore-based investment firm. Amneal worked closely with the Foreign Direct Investment agency IDA Ireland, and the investment was supported by the department of Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation through IDA Ireland. Amneal expects to hire an estimated 250–300 employees at full build-out.

“Our new Ireland facility is critical to Amneal’s long-term global growth, in Europe, the US, and throughout the world,” explained Chintu Patel, Amneal co-CEO and co-chairman, in a press release. Amneal is targeting expansion in Europe, Australia, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.  The company notes that it is pursuing strategic acquisitions or partnerships in Ireland and other countries that welcome US businesses. It is also working on diversifying into more complex, high-value products.

Amneal Pharmaceuticals has launched four new products since June 2015, the company said in a press release. On July 13, the company obtained FDA approval for its tobramycin inhalation solution (a generic equivalent for Tobi inhalation solution). On July 11, Amneal started shipping memantine hydrochloride immediate-release tablets in 5-mg and 10-mg strengths; this product is one of the first generic equivalents to Namenda on the market. Earlier in June, Amneal launched temozolomide capsules (AB-rated to Temodar) in six different strengths along with divalproex sodium extended release (AB-rated to Depakote ER) in 250-mg and 500-mg tablets.

Source: Amneal