Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns has welcomed Ipsen’s £22m investment at its Wrexham site. The announcement cements the organisation’s commitment to UK healthcare arena and further underlines Wales’ growing reputation as a centre of excellence for life sciences.

Ipsen is the third biggest employer in the area with approximately four hundred employees. BQ reports its Wrexham footprint will expand to increase research and manufacturing capacity with new packing line capability and a new office environment.

Alun Cairns said “Ipsen is a great success story for North Wales and its continued expansion is a clear demonstration of the significant contribution life sciences and innovation in these specialist areas make to the region and to the Welsh economy. These are exciting times for the company and for the sector in Wales as a whole as we look to establish ourselves as a world class hub of excellence in life sciences research and development.”

Ipsen sell products in a hundred and fifteen countries and has operated in Wrexham since 1995. The company has over twenty five years of experience manufacturing and developing innovative care products. The Wrexham site produces one of Ipsen’s key strategic products, Dysport which is approved in eighty countries and in several therapeutic indications such as cerebral palsy, spasticity and cervical dystonia.

Aidan Murphy, senior vice president, Biotech Development and Manufacturing at Ipsen, said “We are delighted by today’s announcements as we take important strides in the accelerated expansion programme underway at Wrexham which will see production grow significantly to reflect demand and company ambition. The manufacture of Dysport remains a highly complex process, difficult to replicate and utilises expert and unique technology. We are fortunate to work with a group of highly-skilled individuals across all parts of the organisation at Wrexham and know that this expansion reinforces the site’s position as a state-of-the-art medicine manufacturing facility located here in the UK.”

Ewan McDowall, general manager, Ipsen UK & Ireland, said “The UK remains a pioneer of healthcare, life sciences and technology, and Ipsen will continue to invest and support this growth. The political environment is in a period of uncertainty, however Ipsen is confident that the UK remains an important location for Ipsen across research, development, manufacturing, and of course patients’ access to medicines. We look forward to increasing opportunities to collaborate with experts across each stage of medicine development, manufacturing and distribution – as patients don’t have time to wait.”