The 3,200 square meter laboratory will house microbiological and chemical analysis capabilities and is intended to provide testing capabilities for active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and finished formulations made at a neighbouring facility.
Xellia said it will spend $10m on the new lab and said it would hire an additional 80 staff by the time the facility is fully operational next year.
CEO, Carl-Åke Carlsson, citied growing global demand for generic antibiotics as the main driver for the expansion.
“With anti-microbial resistance posing a very real international threat, our work in the production of generic anti-infectives is especially important. As a world-leading supplier we are committed to providing the highest level of quality and compliance in the manufacture of our APIs and FDFs.”
“The Centralized Laboratory Services building will ensure that, as our global production volumes continue to increase in response to customer demand, we have the expertise and the capacity to continue to deliver effective and quality assured anti-infective products.”
The Budapest facility produces five APIs, including vancomycin hydrochloride. The site employs 190 people.
The investment is the first Xellia has made since it bought a manufacturing site in the US that was previously owned by now defunct contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) Ben Venue Laboratories.