Xellia Pharmaceuticals (‘Xellia’), a specialty pharmaceutical company focusing on providing important anti-infective treatments against serious and often life-threatening infections, today announced that it has invested US$2.0 million (around HRK11.5 million) to significantly expand its Product and Innovation R&D Centre of Excellence in Zagreb, Croatia. This development is part of the Company’s continuing investment in Croatia and represents the latest stage of Xellia’s on-going global expansion plans.
The investment enables the expansion of the existing purpose built Zagreb R&D site to a footprint of more than 1,250m2 including an additional 650m2 of state-of-the-art laboratories. Construction of the new laboratory space is progressing well with completion expected in June 2014. Steen Riisgaard, Xellia’s Chairman of the Board will visit the Zagreb site with other members of the Board of Directors and with Senior Executive Management team on 15-16 May.
This expansion will provide state-of-the-art facilities for the creative research team which was recently strengthened with the employment of an additional 18 roles in pharmaceutical and analytical sciences, clinical innovation and development, project management, R&D quality and intellectual property, significantly increasing the headcount at the site.
Commenting on the expansion of the facility, Steen Riisgaard, Chairman, Xellia said; “Zagreb’s Centre of Excellence in product development plays a vital role in Xellia’s global R&D growth strategy which is rooted in a culture of innovation and strong commercial partnerships. The impressive skill set of expert, specialist Croatian scientists in this highly technical field made Zagreb a natural choice to base and now extend this key facility.”
The R&D Centre of Excellence focuses on the development of generic anti-infective products and innovative formulation technologies to combat serious bacterial and fungal infections, including antibiotic resistant varieties. As a result of the need to control rising healthcare costs in developed countries, and the inability of patients in developing countries to afford life-saving medicines, Xellia’s anti-infective products are becoming increasingly important for global health.
Carl-Åke Carlsson, CEO, Xellia said; “Expanding our R&D Centre of Excellence is a priority for us. This is part of our plan to scale-up and extend the range of products we can offer our global customer base, which includes over 500 pharmaceutical companies worldwide. By providing a final product, as opposed to a single active pharmaceutical ingredient, our customers have access to a simpler, more streamlined supply chain.”
Dr Aleksandar Danilovski, Vice President Global R&D, Xellia, and Managing Director of the Zagreb site said; “This recent investment means that since 2011 we have invested over US$5.0 million (around HRK30.0 million) in Croatia. Over this timeframe we have also hired 40 highly talented employees that are focusing on innovation and pharmaceutical technology excellence in developing difficult and differentiated products for the global pharmaceutical market.
For more information, please contact:
Xellia Pharmaceuticals
Dr Aleksandar Danilovski, Vice President Global R&D
Tel.: +385 98 321 346
Instinctif Partners (media relations)
Melanie Toyne Sewell / Eileen Paul / Jen Lewis
Tel.: +44 (0) 20 7457 2029 / +44 (0)1260 296 500
e-mail: xellia@instinctif.com
