FIFTY jobs could be created if permission is granted for an extension to one of the region's pharmaceutical companies.

Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals, at Seal Sands, Teesside, has applied for permission to build new facilities to increase production of anti-depressant drugs.

Stockton Borough Council is likely to approve the plan tomorrow, subject to a number of conditions and to the views of the Health and Safety Executive.

If permission is granted for the two new buildings, production of anti-depressant S-Citalopram at the plant will increase to 90 tonnes per year.

The development would generate 50 full-time jobs and 150 construction jobs, with the extension open by June 2002.

A spokesman for Stockton Borough Council said: "The development presents little environmental concerns, given its location within the Seal Sands area.

"It is unlikely to be unacceptable in health and safety terms and will not contribute unacceptably to atmospheric pollution in the area.

"Approval for the scheme will also generate an estimated 50 additional full-time permanent jobs, which are likely to be recruited from within the Teesside area."