The first phase of the Lm2.5 million upgrading programme of Pharmamed Ltd's tabletting facility in Bulebel was inaugurated yesterday in the presence of Icelandic Foreign Affairs and External Trade Minister Halldor Asgrimsson, who welcomed "the good cooperation between Iceland and Malta, which brought the countries closer and paved the way for future development".
Now that the first phase of the upgrade was completed, the pharmaceutical company, Pharmamed, hoped to obtain approval to start manufacturing for EU markets by the first quarter of 2003.
Mr Asgrimsson said such companies required a highly educated workforce and technical back-up, and Malta "clearly offered advantages and scope for other joint Malta-Iceland ventures".
To meet growing demand Pharmaco, of which Pharmamed is a subsidiary, has had to expand its production capacity, meaning that Pharmamed is to play an important role in the future.
Pharmamed has a production capacity of 2.4 billion tablets a year and it would, therefore, be supplying many of Pharmaco's European markets.
The upgrading of Pharmamed's tabletting facility has allowed it to be compliant with EU standards and regulations.
The upgrading programme is divided into three phases, spread over the next two to three years and includes an additional Lm2 million investment in the building of a packaging facility, which should be operational by next autumn.
Present at the inauguration was also Health Minister Louis Deguara and Economic Services Minister Josef Bonnici, who said that the upgrading initiatives represented another quality addition to Malta's industrial base, particularly the pharmaceutical sector, which has been identified as having considerable potential for future development.
The inauguration reinforced the government's decision to intensify its efforts to attract additional foreign direct investment in the field to Malta.
Prof. Bonnici reiterated the government's conviction that Malta was a profitable location to operate from. International companies that have invested in Malta have invariably managed to achieve their growth targets much faster than initially planned due to the positive investment climate and the ability of the Maltese workers, he said.
The government was aware of the need to safeguard and sustain Malta's competitiveness to be able to attract more foreign direct investment and facilitate the expansion of companies operating in Malta.
A meeting with Minister Asgrimsson on Monday offered Prof. Bonnici "additional insight into the crucial decision Malta would be making next year as regards its future relationship with the EU."
Pharmaco CEO Robert Wessman said Malta should be proud of the state-of-the-art plant, which could compete with European manufacturing sites. He said the pharmaceuticals sector in Malta had a lot of potential, and the facilities required were available.
Mr Wessman was pleased that the company was contributing to Maltese society and thanked the Economic Services Ministry and the Malta Development Corporation for their support.
Pharmamed is a high-volume generic pharmaceutical manufacturer, employing over 250 highly skilled workers. Delta Ltd, an Icelandic pharmaceutical company, now a subsidiary of Pharmaco, took ownership of Pharmamed last year. The ownership was transferred to Pharmaco, following the merger between Delta and Pharmaco last month, which has made Pharmaco one of the leading companies in generic pharmaceutical production, research and development.