Actavis buys Pfizer oncology plant

Actavis generic pharmaceuticalsActavis, an international pharmaceutical firm which is based in Iceland, recently signed an agreement to acquire a manufacturing site from Pfizer in Nerviano, northern Italy.

The site, which covers an area of 300,000 square metres and employs around 340 staff, focuses on the manufacture of oncology products. Actavis, which specialises in the development, manufacture and sale of generic pharmaceuticals, also entered into a separate multi-year agreement with Pfizer to supply oncology products.

The Nerviano site was founded by Farmitalia in 1965 and has been approved by the US Food and drug administration (FDA), European Union and Japanese regulatory authorities. The site serves 70 markets around the world and will significantly increase Actavis’ capability in manufacturing oncology pharmaceuticals.

Robert Wessman, CEO and President of Actavis said: “This transaction will enable us to meet the exciting growth projections we see for our oncology product portfolio over the coming years. The site is truly world-class, with outstanding facilities and a highly skilled and experienced workforce, and has a proven track record as a supplier of high quality products over many years.

The growing generic pharmaceuticals company plans to develop new products and transfer existing products into Nerviano over the coming years. The Nerviano site will work very closely with Actavis’ Bucharest operation which also develops and manufactures oncology products.

Wessman also said the site offered a “significant capacity to support [Actavis’] future plans, together with space for new investment in complementary development and manufacturing activities.”

The transaction is expected to be complete by the end of this month, expanding Actavis’ network of manufacturing sites to 21 plants in 14 countries. The company operates in 40 countries and has over 11,000 employees.