MIPS welcomes $60M investment by GSK in new manufacturing capability in Melbourne

3 February 2012

Touring the GSK Boronia site on Friday

The Victorian State Minister for Technology Gordon Rich-Phillips announced on February 3, 2012 that GlaxoSmithKline Australia will invest $60 million to expand its Boronia manufacturing site and create 58 new highly-skilled jobs by 2017. "This investment by GSK is of major significance to Victoria's pharmaceutical industry, and the Victorian economy," Mr Rich-Phillips said.

GSK's manufacturing plant in Boronia is the company's largest site globally for the production of sterile liquid products that utilise state-of-the-art 'blow-fill-seal' (BFS) technology. This technology, which is an advanced antiseptic process, produces a range of container sizes suitable for the delivery of unpreserved, sterile products.

Mr Rich-Phillips said the $60 million investment would allow GSK to potentially double its current BFS manufacturing capacity by installing new BFS production technology.

An additional benefit of the investment is the creation of a pilot scale industrialisation facility for the development of new powder and sterile liquid pharmaceutical products that will support the continuation of GSK's successful R&D collaboration with the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University. This R&D collaboration was established in 2009 with $3.3M initial funding from the Victorian Science Agenda (VSA) Investment Fund and GSK, and it leverages MIPS unique skills in pharmaceutical science and nanotechnology with the industrial know-how and world-class medicine development capabilities of GSK Australia.

Professor Bill Charman, Director of MIPS, said "I applaud GSK's commitment to expanding its state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing here in Victoria, and welcome the opportunities it offers for the next stage of our on-going R&D collaboration with GSK. The initial VSA funding was the catalyst for this significant expansion in world-class pharmaceutical manufacturing and medicine development."  

GSK Boronia Site Director Troy Webb said this was a unique opportunity to put Victoria and Australia on the map when it comes to scientific innovation, particularly around respiratory, ophthalmic, biological and consumer healthcare products.

"With the Victorian Government as a key supporter, this investment will build a sustainable manufacturing capability within the local community while driving manufacturing technology," Mr Webb said.

GSK is a significant contributor to the Victorian economy in terms of employment, exports, manufacturing and local R&D investment, expending on average more than $30 million a year on R&D in Victoria and consistently exporting more than $300 million per annum in pharmaceutical products from the state.