The investment also covers the transfer of the existing pilot plant for tablets to the new facility and a considerable increase of production capacities for sterile forms.
Miran Denac, PhD, director of operations for Pliva in Croatia, said: “Highly qualified employees have been trained in operating new production lines, and following the gradual exploitation of production capacities, new jobs will be opened in this production facility.”
The new facility expands Teva's annual capacity by 2 billion tablets or more than 25%. Products manufactured in the new facility are mainly intended for the EU and US markets. Commercial production is expected to begin as soon as the facility is approved by the US FDA and other regulatory agencies.
Pliva also said the new facility and its upgraded tech complies with special environmental monitoring requirements.
The announcement of the new facility comes little more than a week since Teva announced $2bn (€1.48bn) in annual cuts through 2017. Those plans include the sale of plants in California and Pennsylvania.
The company’s recent activity seem to indicate a shift toward more Eastern markets, as the company earlier this year also announced plans to invest further in Japan as these markets seem more interested in generic drugs.
But as Teva shifts, employees at the Israel-based company began protests on Monday in Neot Hovav, claiming that they receive minimum wages even for weekend and holiday work. However, shares of the company rose almost 2% on Tuesday.