Apotex today disclosed plans for a $184 million U.S. expansion that it said will include at least 150 new full-time jobs and the development of a new R&D center and advanced manufacturing and packaging facility in Miramar, FL.
The new R&D center and advanced manufacturing and packaging facility will serve as the new U.S. headquarters for Apotex as well as the U.S. offices for Apobiologix, the company’s biosimilar unit.
The R&D component is part of an Apotex initiative to boost its R&D operations, on which the company plans to spend $2 billion over the next 10 years.
Miramar is about 15 miles southeast of Weston, FL, where Apotex now bases its U.S. headquarters. Apotex employs more than 10,000 people worldwide and generates estimated annual sales of approximately $2 billion. The company cites IMS Health data that ranks Apotex as the 7th largest generic pharmaceutical company globally.
Apotex said it chose Miramar for its new facility in order to facilitate more efficient expansion and service within the U.S., enhance access to Latin America, and capitalize on Broward County’s business environment.
Jeremy B. Desai, Ph.D., MBA, CEO and president of Toronto-based Apotex, said in a statement that expansion in Canada was not feasible because U.S. regulations require the company to manufacture stateside the controlled substances marketed in the U.S.
“Expanding our footprint in the U.S. is a central component of our strategy for global growth and reflects the critical importance of the U.S. and Latin American markets to our success, as well as our confidence in the future of the American manufacturing and biopharmaceutical sector,” Dr. Desai stated.
Worldwide, Apotex says, it can produce up to 24 billion dosages per year. The company produces 300 medicines in 4000 dosages and formats that are exported to 115 countries.
The Miramar facility—which according to the company will be one of the largest manufacturing projects in South Florida—will also house the packaging operations of Aveva Drug Delivery Systems, an Apotex subsidiary focused on producing transdermal drugs.
Construction on the building has begun and is expected to be completed in early 2019, Apotex said.
Miramar is within Florida’s Broward County, which when combined with Greater Fort Lauderdale is part of a South Florida region that has approximately 1500 bioscience businesses and institutions employing more than 26,000 people and generating over $4 billion in sales.
