THE WHAT? Allergan has opened a new €145m facility in Westport, Ireland, which is planned to bolster its production of Botox and products using the ingredient. 

THE DETAILS The new facility, named Biologics 2, is said to increase the pharmaceutical company’s capacity to make Botox, with the expanded R&D labs set to help NPD using other strains of the botulinum toxin.

Paul Coffey, Managing Director of Allergan Westport, said, “With the addition of a new microbiology and cell-based laboratory, the team here in Westport are looking forward to contributing to product innovations that will make a difference to patients’ lives all over the world.”

THE WHY? Botox is Allergan’s top-selling product with annual sales of over $3.5bn. Used for both therapeutic and cosmetic purposes, the new site expansion is significant for the company’s expansion and the development of new products.  

Coffey said, “Our primary role in Westport is manufacturing, but we are also heavily involved in the late-stage development of new products that Allergan have in the pipeline. We would be hopeful that a number of those products will end up getting launched and supplied out of the Westport site.”