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 Pharmaceutical Materials
Division provides process development and manufacturing services for active
pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) throughout the entire life cycle of
a drug. The Pharm-Eco business, located in the USA, provides contract
chemistry and manufacturing services for drugs in the early and middle
phases of their development cycle. As products reach late stages of development
and commercial approval, both West Deptford (USA) and Macfarlan Smith
(UK) provide commercial scale manufacturing services along with regulatory
support for active pharmaceutical ingredients. These businesses manufacture
products for both branded and generic drugs. In October 2002 Johnson Matthey
purchased Cascade Biochem, a world leader in the chemistry of prostaglandins
which are a class of very complex, high value molecules with increasing
therapeutic applications.
The West Deptford business
manufactures high value APIs, including controlled substances and metal
based pharmaceuticals. These are used in both generic and proprietary
drugs to treat cancer, chronic pain and attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD). In 2002/03 West Deptford’s sales grew by 17%, primarily
due to the full year benefit of several new products launched late in
2001/02, sales of which were strong throughout the year. In anticipation
of this and future growth, new manufacturing facilities on the site were
completed and commissioned during the year. This expansion has increased
manufacturing capacity by 40% and provides space for additional laboratories
and reactor capacity. In June 2002 West Deptford received approval from
the US Drug Enforcement Administration to import the key raw materials
used in the manufacture of morphine and codeine. This approval, along
with technology transferred from Macfarlan Smith, will enable West Deptford
to fully participate in this market in the US, which is currently only
open to three other companies. A project to install facilities for morphine
and codeine production on the site is underway and these are expected
to be commissioned during the first half of 2004.
Macfarlan Smith, located
in Edinburgh, UK, is a world leader in the manufacture and marketing of
controlled drugs. Macfarlan Smith’s business continued to grow well
during the year despite the cessation of its contract for the extraction
of galantamine from daffodil bulbs. Its purpose built galantamine extraction
facility has been successfully converted to the extraction of concentrated
poppy straw, enabling important cost savings in the manufacture of Macfarlan
Smith’s key opiate products. The business’ sales of bulk opiate
products, particularly codeine and morphine, remain strong. Sales growth
was particularly good in specialist opiates and other controlled drugs,
where the market for key products continues to grow due to the launch
of new dosage forms and therapeutic applications. Several key new controlled
drug products are in late stages of development and will provide sales
growth in future years. The programme of investment in facilities at Macfarlan
Smith has continued, with projects to add new reactors specially configured
for hydrogenation reactions. In addition significant investments were
made in site infrastructure and regulatory compliance initiatives during
the year.
Pharm-Eco,
based near Boston, USA, is a leading provider of contract chemistry services
and small scale manufacturing in support of the development of new drugs.
Outsourcing of chemistry by pharmaceutical companies continues to grow
and Pharm-Eco continues to broaden its range of services to the industry.
Pharm-Eco’s sales in 2002/03 were well up on prior year with both
of its service areas of contract chemistry and contract manufacturing
achieving strong growth. In support of this growth, additional laboratory
facilities were added at its Devens, Massachusetts facility. The business
has also begun a project to install reactor suites in the production area
at Devens. The first two suites will be completed in the third quarter
of 2003/04. During the year Pharm-Eco also acquired the interest of its
joint venture partner, UOP, in Universal Pharma Technologies (UPT). UPT
develops equipment and provides contract separation services using simulated
moving bed chromatography, a very advanced technology for purification
of organic chemicals. This novel separation technique complements Johnson
Matthey’s pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities, especially for
complex and chiral molecules.
Cascade Biochem,
with facilities in Reading, UK and Cork, Ireland, is a world leader in
the chemistry of prostaglandins and related compounds. Cascade has performed
well since its acquisition in October 2002. Prostaglandins are very complex,
difficult to synthesise molecules that are mainly used in cardiovascular,
gastrointestinal and ophthalmic medicine. The Cork facility has been approved
by the US FDA and currently manufactures misoprostol, a prostaglandin
product for the generic drug market. Cascade has a strong development
pipeline, including many products that are due to become generic in the
future. Market interest in prostaglandin products is high and the business
is in the process of negotiating commercial relationships for key products.
In support of the commercialisation of Cascade’s product pipeline,
a programme of capacity expansion has begun at the Cork facility. The
first stage of this expansion will be completed by mid 2003/04.
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