Wockhardt, the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology major, today hosted a visit at its Wrexham facility in North Wales of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Mr Boris Johnson.
The Prime Minister inspected Wockhardt’s fill finish production line and was accompanied by local Wrexham conservative MP Sarah Atherton.
The UK Government has reserved one fill and finish production line at Wockhardt UK for its exclusive use for 18 months in order to guarantee the supply of vaccines required to fight against COVID-19.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Today marks the next stage in the UK distribution of the coronavirus vaccine.
“Our agreement with Wockhardt is a significant milestone for the British life science industry and will help produce the vaccines this country needs.”
“I am grateful to have met with some of the hardworking team here in Wales, who are helping take us one step closer to defeating this virus.”
While acknowledging the visit as mark of honour, the Founder Chairman of Wockhardt Dr. Habil Khorakiwala said, “The visit today 30th November by the Prime Minster of the UK demonstrates our global strength in sterile injectable facilities and capacity. With four
decades of expertise and experience behind us, we are able to quickly rise to the occasion, scale up the manufacture of much desired vaccines and assist in mitigating the global impact of COVID-19. We have more than a billion dosage capacity for both API and fill finish globally and can be a key partner in fighting the world’s most demanding need in the hour of COVID-19.”
Wockhardt is a global pharmaceutical and biotech organisation that brings affordable, high quality medicines to market. The firm is focussed and committed to assist in mitigating the worldwide impact of COVID-19 and the collaboration with the UK Government to make
vaccines available upholds its ongoing commitment to fighting against a pandemic of such global human importance.
In the UK, Wockhardt is one of the largest suppliers into the NHS for over 20 years, has had a presence in Wrexham for over two decades and employs over 400 people at its 612,000 square feet high-tech manufacturing facility.
Speaking about the visit Ravi Limaye, Managing Director of Wockhardt UK said, “We are privileged to host the Prime Minister and showcase our world class manufacturing capability here in Wrexham. Our sophisticated sterile facility and highly skilled workforce are a prime example of why the manufacturing sector is a major employer accounting for around 9% of the UK workforce.”
About Wockhardt:
Wockhardt UK specialises in the supply of generic and speciality medicines and is one of the leading suppliers to the NHS. They have a portfolio of over 250 product lines which are available in a wide range of preparations, including tablets, capsules, injections and liquid medicines.
The UK manufacturing site based in Wrexham, North Wales manufactures a number of sterile injectable products covering a wide range of therapy areas including diabetes, anticoagulation and pain management. The products are available in many forms such as
vials, cartridges and ampoules including lyophilised (dry powder) products. In addition to their own Wockhardt branded products, they also provide contract manufacturing services for companies all around the world.
Wockhardt is a research based global pharmaceutical and biotech company headquartered in Mumbai, India.
Wockhardt’s New Drug Discovery programme has focussed on the unmet need of making anti-bacterial drugs effective in mitigating untreatable superbugs. Wockhardt is the only company in the world that has received QIDP Status (Qualified Infectious Diseases
Programme) from the US FDA for six anti-bacterial discovery programmes – three of them are Gram Negative and three Gram Positive and are effective against untreatable “Superbugs”. Wockhardt has a dedicated and experienced Drug Discovery team as part of its clinical research organisation.
Wockhardt employs over 7,000 people across 27 nationalities with a presence in the USA, UK, Ireland, Switzerland, France, Mexico, Russia and many other countries. It has manufacturing and research facilities in India, the USA and UK and a manufacturing facility in Ireland. Wockhardt has a significant presence in the USA, Europe and India, with around 73% of its global revenue coming from international business.
Media contacts:
India
Eudora Ferrao EFerrao@wockhardt.com
UK
Sara Wheater/Alex Brown 01244 567236 media@disleymarketing.com
