- Demonstrates MilliporeSigma’s commitment to the UK
- Only MilliporeSigma facility to produce both liquid and powder cell culture media
Irvine, Scotland, May 27, 2019 — MilliporeSigma, a leading science and technology company, today announced the completion of a £2.7 million expansion to its Irvine biopharmaceutical production facility. The site is MilliporeSigma’s only location where both liquid and powder cell culture media are manufactured.
“This investment in additional capacity will serve customers’ growing needs and demonstrates MilliporeSigma’s commitment to the Scottish and the UK economies,” said Laurent Halbwachs, head of Operations at MilliporeSigma’s Irvine Cell Culture Media Centre of Excellence.
MilliporeSigma’s Irvine site supplies materials for the production of medicines to treat cancer and diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and various forms of dementia, among others. This expansion will allow MilliporeSigma to supply an additional two million litres of specialised media to the global healthcare industry, building on its £20 million investment in 2015 for a dry powder facility.
Liquid manufacturing for the production of a type of glucose that combats viruses also takes place at the Irvine facility. This technology has been used as a treatment for high-risk bioreactor feeds and is becoming an integral part of biopharmaceutical companies’ viral risk-mitigation strategies.
Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work Derek Mackay joined the MilliporeSigma team on site to inaugurate the expanded facility on May 24. Local MSP Ruth Maguire and MP Dr. Philippa Whitford, who participated in MilliporeSigma’s 2017 groundbreaking ceremony, also attended the event.
“I was delighted to speak at the Parliamentary reception in December to mark the 350th anniversary of MilliporeSigma,” Mackay said. “This latest investment at the facility demonstrates their continued commitment to investing in Scotland’s diverse life sciences sector, which MilliporeSigma is an integral part of. This investment will also further strengthen the site in Irvine and underlines MilliporeSigma’s commitment to the local economy. Life Science is an incredibly important sector for Scotland, employing almost 40,000 people across 770 organisations, and I look forward to seeing MilliporeSigma continue to be a major contributor to that success story.”