Squarepharma: Kenya to reduce import dependency with production of new site; Co-laboratory space to open in China

Square Pharmaceuticals will start production of its $74.36 million factory in Kenya in early 2022, according to The Daily Nation. The site from the Bangladeshi pharmaceutical leader will produce malaria and diabetes drugs, among other essential medicines. It will manufacture more than 2 billion tablets and capsules a year, enough to make it the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in East and Central Africa. The Kenyan workforce will get technology and training to make the drugs, the company said in a statement Monday. With the new site, Kenya hopes to reduce the dependance on imported pharmaceuticals. It will also help cut costs. Kenya imports $578 million worth of drugs a year. Co-laboratory space to open in Shanghai Shanghai Pharmaceuticals and Syntegon have agreed to build a laboratory for manufacturing to help cut the cost of drug development and improve the accessibility of orphan drugs in China. "As a large pharmaceutical industry group listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals has always been driven by technology and innovation, dedicated to solving clinical needs, and guided by quality, cost-performace, intelligent manufacturing, and green development to continuously optimize production layout and promote manufacturing excellence," Shanghai's deputy director of manufacturing said in a statement. The co-laboratory will provide both companies with a space for continuous manufacturing. BioPure opens UK warehouse The Portsmouth, UK city council has completed a new warehouse in a business park for BioPure Technologies, the city announced. The facility is the largest development of a manufacturing facility on the UK's south coast in 2021. BioPure is a a fluid-path component manufacturer for biotech companies. "BioPure are moving their equipment in as we speak, which is brilliant. The council has completed another high quality, energy efficient building here at Dunsbury Park and the company themselves are fitting it out with their specialized facilities," City Could leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson said in a press release. "Right now it is just a warren of people creating things, making the place fit for purpose and there are going to be jobs here building pumps for the pharmaceutical industry. There are going to be engineering jobs and jobs at every other level to really meet the needs of people in this area." Editor's Note: For more news and exclusive coverage from the manufacturing beat, subscribe to the Endpoints Manufacturing weekly report in your reader profile.