As the U.K. works to pump fresh cash into the local biopharma scene, London’s Accord Healthcare is capitalizing on the government’s renewed willingness to chip in.
Flush with a 50 million pound sterling ($65 million) joint investment deal from the U.K., Accord is embarking on an expansion of its Fawdon drug manufacturing facility in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, the company said in a release.
Accord, which is one of Europe’s top suppliers of chemotherapies, says it will use the funding to set up new product lines for a prostate cancer drug and a pair of autoimmune injectables for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and gastroenterology indications. The company also plans to expand its medicines for adjunctive therapy in cancer.
The project will see Accord hire 50 new staffers at Fawdon in a move expected to “safeguard the facility’s long-term future.”
The U.K.’s financial backing of the plant fits into the country’s broader goal to shore up local supply chains for critical drugs and boost health resilience overall, according to a separate release from the British government. Accord’s Fawdon site is also expected to be “highly valuable in the event of a future pandemic,” the government said.
Headquartered in the U.K. and boasting a deep presence across mainland Europe, Accord refers to itself online as the “international arm” of India’s Intas Pharmaceuticals. The company says it provides some 30% of all generic chemotherapy injectables across Europe and the U.K. as well as 10% of the volume of all medicines to England’s National Health Service (NHS).
Should the investment and subsequent expansion prove fruitful for Accord, the company says it aims to pump more cash into the Fawdon site as well as its Barnstaple campus in Devon, England.
Accord’s cash infusion from the government came just days after the U.K.’s new chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves—who met with Accord in Newcastle to celebrate the unlocking of the joint investment—unveiled the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF) as part of a new budget under the Labour Party.
The innovative manufacturing fund will distribute up to 520 million pounds (about $675 million) in capital grants aimed at drug and medical technology production.
Overall, LSIMF is being positioned as a means to safeguard the U.K. against future health emergencies, capitalize on the country’s life sciences pedigree and bolster access to products for both pandemic and non-pandemic scenarios.
Elsewhere, Reeves’ budget includes provisions to boost funding for the NHS and the National Institute for Health Research.