Dive Brief:
- British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline has invested HUF 18 billion ($62.5 million) into its Hungarian vaccine unit, consolidating diphtheria toxoid and tetanus toxoid manufacturing for the vaccines Infanrix and Synflorix into one site located in Gödöllö, Hungary.
- The expansion will create 104 new jobs in production and quality, Glaxo said. Building work will begin in August 2017, with manufacturing going live in 2023 following regulatory approval. The Hungarian government will provide an additional HUF 1.8 billion ($6.2 million) in funding.
- Some production will transfer from Glaxo's Marburg, Germany site, which will now focus on antigen production for Bexsero, GSK's meningococcal B vaccine, as well as production of a mumps vaccine following a €172 million ($184.5 million) investment in October 2016.
Dive Insight:
The global market vaccines has been expanding and looks set to grow further in the coming years, according to a report from Transparency Market Research.
GlaxoSmithKline, one of the four companies that dominate the production of vaccines, appears to be ramping up its manufacturing to meet that growing need. Last December, for example, the pharma opened a new vaccines R&D center in Rockville, MD and plans to house 12 vaccines programs at the facility.
And revenues from the pharma's vaccines business have grown in the wake of a 2014 asset swap with Novartis, now accounting for 16.4% of revenues.
The investment in Hungary is a small part of Glaxo's overall presence in the space, but is indicative of the growth the company expects from the business.
Expanding the Gödöllö plant will help to secure the long-term supply of the Infanrix/Boostrix franchise to meet global demand, Glaxo's Angela Hill, director of external communications in vaccines, said in an emailed statement.
During the transfer process, the Marburg facilities will remain in routine operation to ensure continued supply.
"These investments will enable both teams to do even more of what they do best and underscores their importance to our global manufacturing network," Hill said.
The Marburg site was originally acquired from Novartis in that 2014 swap, which sent Glaxo's oncology portfolio to Novartis in exchange for the Swiss pharma's vaccines business (excepting flu products).