GSK today confirmed that it will invest more than £500 million in the UK across its manufacturing sites to increase production of key active ingredients for its pharmaceutical products and vaccines.

The company announced selection of Ulverston in Cumbria as the location for the first new GSK manufacturing facility to be built in the UK for almost 40 years. Investment will also be made at the company's two manufacturing sites in Scotland at Montrose and Irvine. In total, it is anticipated these investments will create up to 1,000 new jobs over the lifetime of the projects and will also benefit the wider construction industry and the many companies which supply GSK with services and facilities in the UK.

These investments represent one of the largest commitments to the UK life-sciences sector in recent years. They follow confirmation by the Government in the Budget yesterday that it will implement a 'patent box' to encourage investment in R&D and related manufacturing in the UK, by introducing a lower rate of corporation tax on profits generated from UK-owned intellectual property.

GSK's CEO Sir Andrew Witty said: "The introduction of the patent box has transformed the way in which we view the UK as a location for new investments, ensuring that the medicines of the future will not only be discovered, but can also continue to be made here in Britain. Consequently, we can confirm that we will build GSK's first new UK factory for almost 40 years and that we will make other substantial capital investments in our British manufacturing base. In total, this will create up to 1,000 new jobsover the lifetime of the projects. We are also actively considering other investments in our UK manufacturing network which would create further jobs and reinforce the UK’s international competitiveness and as a world leader in life sciences."

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Prime Minister David Cameron said: "This is excellent news, a major investment that will create many highly skilled jobs and provide a great boost to the economy. It shows why we are right to cut business tax and focus on making the UK a dynamic and competitive place that can attract exactly this type of high tech investment. We have a world class life sciences industry, and I am determined not just to keep it here in the UK but significantly increase it too. We cannot be complacent, the industry is changing, and we must change with it. Our innovative life sciences strategy and ground breaking patent box are already making a difference, helping to grow this important industry and ensure the great discoveries of the next decade happen here in British laboratories."

Following an extensive feasibility study conducted through 2011, GSK today announced that the location for its new state-of-the-art biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility will be Ulverston, Cumbria. Approximately £350m has been earmarked for its construction. Four existing GSK sites across the UK were assessed – Barnard Castle and Ulverston in the North of England, and Irvine and Montrose in Scotland – with examination of factors such as sterile processing skills, technical capability and existing links with local suppliers and academic partners.

Detailed planning and design of the new facility will now begin, with an anticipated start date for construction of 2014/15 dependent on portfolio timing and obtaining necessary planning and related consents. Once construction starts, it is likely to take at least six years before the plant is fully operational.

GSK also announced today it is considering further significant manufacturing investment at Ulverston which could double the total investment at the site to approximately £700m and create further jobs in the longer term, depending on continued improvements in the environment for innovation in the UK.

GSK confirmed that it will invest more than £100m across its two manufacturing sites in Scotland. This includes new funding at Montrose to enable the manufacture of key materials for GSK's portfolio of respiratory medicines. Investment will also be made at Montrose to produce aluminium adjuvants, which are high-tech agents used in the manufacture of vaccines to help stimulate the body's immune system. GSK is the world's largest vaccine company and this is the first time a UK GSK site will participate in the company's vaccine manufacturing supply chain. At Irvine, GSK will increase production capacity for antibiotics, reflecting growing demand for these medicines in Emerging Markets. GSK will also invest in sustainable green energy production and environmentally friendly manufacturing technologies at both sites."

(CD/GK)