GSK exiting Australian OTC site: over 200 jobs to be lost
The Ermington, Australia site will close its doors in 2020, with 223 jobs lost, the UK-headquartered drugmaker said last week.
GSK spokeswoman Bernadette Murdoch told this publication the site manufactures over-the-counter (OTC) liquid and tablet cold and flu drugs, including the firm’s paracetamol based analgesics Panadol and Panadeine, with 80% of the products being supplier to the Australian market.
“Production will be moved to other GSK sites but we will also be looking at using contract manufacturers,” she told us, though further details are not yet available.
The firm said significant ongoing investment would be needed to maintain Ermington which would not allow the manufacturing site to remain competitive in the long-term.
The news comes 18 months after GSK sold two opiate manufacturing sites in Latrobe, Tasmania and Port Fairy, Victoria to Indian generics maker Sun Pharma.
But despite the divestments and this latest planned closure, the company said it remained dedicated to Australia.
The firm does have a manufacturing site in Boronia, Victoria which makes respiratory products including Ventolin (salbutamol sulfate). The site has seen a number of investments in Blow-Fill-Seal technology over the past few years and will not – GSK said – be affected by the Ermington closure.
