The contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) has added automated capsule filling, tablet compression and coating capabilities at its facility in Milton Park, Oxford as part of what site manager Jon Sutch said was an effort to offer a wider range of dosage forms.
The UK investment – which comes three years after Patheon ramped up its capacity to produce capsules and other oral dosage forms at its sister manufacturing facility in Bourgoin, France – is designed to establish a stand-alone development centre.
News of the UK investment also comes just a few weeks it was announced that Patheon would become a private company and merge with the pharmaceutical products contracting business of Royal DSM.
At the time DSM CFO Ralph-Dieter Schwalb highlighted Patheon’s capabilities in drug development coupled with its capsules business – strengthened buy its acquisition of Banner Pharmacaps in 2012 – would be the core focus for the new combined company.
The UK investment coincides with the publication of Patheon’s preliminary financial results for the fiscal year which, although not the final figures, suggest that the CMO has performed better in the last 12 months than it did in fiscal 2012.
Patheon reported revenues of $1.02bn, $876.8m of which was generated by its CMO business while the remaining $146.3m coming from its pharmaceutical development services operations.
In fiscal 2012 Patheon’s revenues were $700m, with CMO services bringing in $610m and development services contributing $138.4m.
Similarly Patheon seems to have reduced its losses in 2013, posting a deficit of $38.5m from continuing operations, which is a significant reduction on the $106m shortfall it recorded in the year-earlier 12 months.