Deal is just the right medicine for jobs

Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals Ltd, the UK subsidiary of the Danish firm, will build a new bulk production facility at its Seal Sands site.

The project forms part of a multi-million pound investment that Lundbeck is making on Teesside, with work on the fast-track scheme expected to be completed by the end of next year.

The work is being carried out by Foster Wheeler Energy Ltd (FWE) with detailed engineering, procurement, and construction managed by their Teesside operation.

Ian Bill, chairman and chief executive of FWE, said: "We are delighted to be chosen by Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals to develop their Seal Sands facility. The proven combination of the technical skills of our pharmaceutical division and the flexible capability of our Teesside operation positions us ideally to meet the challenges of this project."

FWE's large Berkshire-based pharmaceutical centre of excellence will complete the preliminary design of the project. There was no-one available at Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals to comment on the development, but details of the employment opportunities to be created by the facility are expected to be announced in the near future.

The firm currently employs around 80 people at Seal Sands.

Andrew Skibo, senior vice president of FEW pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals, said they had won the contract because of their innovative approach to design and fast-track construction.

"Time is always a critical factor in the pharmaceuticals industry," he said.

"Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals was impressed by our strategy to complete this new bulk facility within 18 months."

The facilities will produce the active substance for Lundbeck's next innovative product - a new form of the drug Citalopram, used to treat severe forms of depression, and the Teesside operation also produces compounds involved in the treatment of serious mental illness.

The firm took over the 20-acre site from fellow Danish chemical company, Prom, in 1993.