Bayer opens OTC drug plant in China
pharmafile | January 19, 2016 | News story | Manufacturing and Production | Bayer, China, OTC, TCM, Yunnan, over the counter, traditional Chinese medicine
Bayer has opened a new manufacturing plant to produce over-the-counter (OTC) drugs in China, as the German firm looks to increase its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
The plant, in the Majinpu bioengineering and pharmaceutical industrial park in Yunnan, will also manufacture traditional medicines for the Chinese market and sold by Bayer China.
The 111,534 square-metre site is Bayer’s second largest OTC manufacturing facility in Asia Pacific, “which will greatly enhance the company’s integral capabilities in providing high-quality self-care solutions to meet the diverse healthcare needs of Chinese consumers,”, the company says.
The construction of Majinpu site was started in 2013 by Dihon, and was taken over by Bayer after the acquisition in November 2014, the same year as Bayer also acquired Merck’s OTC drug division.
“With the resolution to promote Dihon’s renowned brands for the benefit of a wider population, Bayer keeps exploring the potential of our well-blended advantages.” said Celina Chew, president of Bayer Greater China Group. “We are committed to the China market and we will continue to invest in the Life Sciences. Firmly bearing our mission of ‘Science For A Better Life’, we will deepen our collaborations with local partners, and focus on innovation to provide more advanced healthcare solutions for Chinese people.”
Bayer expects to have invested 1.4 billion yuan, or about £149 million, in the site by 2020 as part of a strategic expansion in the area.
Bayer has been investing in its manufacturing base in China. The German pharma giant has around 13,000 employees in China, along with several manufacturing and R&D facilities. It hopes to gain from China’s burgeoning pharmaceutical market, which was expected to reach $63 billion in sales last year.
“The site consolidates Bayer’s TCM supply capabilities in Yunnan,” says Lance Yuen, head of Greater China, Bayer Consumer Health. It will boost our manufacturing capacity for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) products by a factor of three in 2016, and will also triple the manufacturing and supplying capacity for all Dihon products by 2020. The enhanced capacity will enable us to provide high-standard self-care products to more consumers in China and other countries.”
“By 2020, the total estimated investment in the facility will amount to CNY 1.4 billion, making the site a full-fledged global hub for Bayer’s TCM and western medicine production, further accelerating Bayer’s transformation from treating illness to promoting wellness.”
Lilian Anekwe
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