Japan's Kyorin Pharmaceuticals plans to invest some 8 billion yen (€62.5m) in a new facility to produce tablet and capsule formulations. This will replace an existing plant in Nogi, Tochigi prefecture and is scheduled for completion in April 2006.
The existing Nogi unit, which makes eye drops and other products including internal medicines, will be closed in March 2006 and Kyorin will outsource production of intravenous agents and medicines made in small quantities to other companies, reports the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
Kyorin was hit recently by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's decision to an emergency safety notice regarding the safety of Gatiflo (gatifloxacin), the company's top-selling antibacterial product.