Released: Thursday 28th September 2017

Eurofins Increases Capacity and Strengthens Capability at New Facility

Eurofins Scientific (EUFI.PA), a world leader in bioanalytical testing, has today opened a new pharmaceutical chemistry and microbiology facility in Livingston, Scotland, following a £4 million investment.

A plaque marking the opening of the laboratories at Brucefield Industry Park was officially unveiled by Paul Wheelhouse MSP, Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy.

World-class facilities at the site will provide greater capacity for the Eurofins Biopharmaceutical Product Testing business in the UK, which will move from its current site in Newbridge, Edinburgh. The facility will also house new laboratories for Eurofins’ Water testing business.

The 5800m² facility will become one of the largest dedicated testing sites of its kind in the UK and in the coming years, the Biopharmaceutical Product Testing UK business hopes to double employee numbers to over 100.

The investment follows Eurofins’ acquisition of Exova’s pharmaceutical, food and water testing business in the UK & Ireland in July 2016, and the subsequent purchase of ILS’s pharmaceutical business in October 2016.

Eurofins BioPharma Product Testing UK’s work is critical to drug development compliance testing prior to products being released to market, and the company is a crucial part of the supply chain in facilitating the release of products and ultimately benefiting patient health.

The business will look to expand on finished product and raw materials testing, and will increase capacity to deal with higher volumes. A greater number of technical specialists will be available to work on method development and validation.

GMP microbiology contract testing will also be a focus for the site, alongside elemental impurity testing, which has benefited from the purchase of new equipment to enhance the capability of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) testing, enabling the company to meet a growing demand for this service. Eurofins will also invest in more high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipment, increasing its capacity by 40 per cent.

Alison Clayton, General Manager, said the Livingston site would be one of the largest of all the Eurofins UK sites, which form part of a network of laboratories that work together across the UK, Ireland and Europe.

She added: “The large investment in the facility will position the company in the best place to attract new customers thanks to greatly increased capacity, and is all in line with Eurofins’ intent to attract future significant growth and development opportunities.”

Alison explained that the long-term commitment to the site by Eurofins reinforces foundations set out in the Life Sciences Strategy for Scotland, unveiled earlier this year and counter-signed by Mr Wheelhouse.

She added: “There is a large talent pool in the central belt of Scotland, so building a high quality facility, which has the flexibility to develop to meet changing testing needs and the growing demands of the industry, is a great message not just for retaining competence in this country, but also attracting new talent.”

Berthold Hackl, General Manager Europe, Eurofins Biopharma Product Testing, said: “I am delighted with the timely completion of this state of the art testing facility in Livingston, Scotland as this supports our strategic plan to have a significant presence in the UK to support biopharma GMP testing requirements.

“The opportunity to develop the facility further as the business grows to meet our customer needs over the next five to ten years is an excellent fit with our long term strategy to further build our position as the global leader in biopharmaceutical product testing.”

Scottish Government Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy Paul Wheelhouse said: “Scotland has a thriving life sciences community, with a supportive ecosystem, and is widely recognised for the distinctive capabilities of our business base and research institutions. We have built a strong international reputation with significant potential for strong growth in turnover and profitability and the creation of high value jobs.

“Eurofins BioPharma Product Testing UK is critical to the vital process of drug development compliance testing prior to products being released to market, and the company is therefore a crucial part of the supply chain in that it facilitates the release of products to ultimately benefit patient health. Scottish Enterprise is working closely with the company to help sustain and grow the business which I hope has an exciting future in a dynamic Scottish Life Sciences Sector.”

Eurofins water microbiology and water chemistry laboratories across the UK provide analysis to assess the safety of water in cooling towers, hot and cold water systems, closed systems and recreational waters such as swimming pools and spas.

The companies are part of Eurofins Scientific, an international life sciences company which provides a unique range of analytical testing services to clients across multiple industries worldwide.

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