1M&A PHARMACHEM | 1
MANUFACTURING EDITION
Mr. Gerard Michael Pessagno, Managing Director M&A Pharmachem Limited
Cremer filling line
For more than 40 years, M&A Pharmachem Ltd has been a successful British company based in Westhoughton, in Bolton. It was established by the late Frank Armstrong
and is now managed through a family trust. It consists of two companies, the parent company M&A Pharmachem and its sister company CD Medical Ltd. The philosophy of the whole group is to offer top quality pharmaceuticals and medical devices for medical staff to prescribe and use across the healthcare sector. We demonstrate a flexible approach to the market, delivering new products and quantities to the market as the demand arises.
Lancastrian Pharmaceuticals
M&A Pharmachem Ltd has been concentrating on manufacturing off-patent pain
relieving pharmaceuticals in the North West of England for four decades. With a
turnover of £12 million and a staff of 150, we offer quality products in tablet and
caplet (capsule shaped tablets) form. These include the recognisable Paracetamol,
Aspirin, Co-codamol, Co-Dydramol and Dihydrocodeine analgesics. Other generic drugs
such as Gabapentin, Folic Acid and Furosemide form part of the manufactured portfolio.
Our client list boasts the English, Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh NHS, leading
High Street retailers, community pharmacies and wholesale distributors in the UK
and beyond. Within this highly competitive market, we are able to offer value for
money products and an ability to respond to individual customer needs with the
production of new, own label medicines. Our expanding export operation and our
partners ship products to developing Arabian and African countries.
FACTS ABOUT M&A PHARMACHEM LTD
» Incorporated in 1977
» Employing 150 staff
» Making quality products for over 40 years
M&A Pharmachem
THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
2 | M&A PHARMACHEM
Quality is, and always has been,
paramount. Our UK headquarters boasts
an impressive laboratory facility with
a wide technical capability including
high phase liquid chromatography plus
UV and visible spectrophotometry.
A separate laboratory is used for the
development of drug formulations on
site. Over the past two years we have
invested over £5 million on our factory
plant and equipment specifically in the
manufacturing, packing and ancillary
services areas. An additional £3 million
is planned to be spent in 2017 with
the goal of increasing capacity while
maintaining high standards and keeping
up with the demands of our clients.
The majority of projects have been self-
financed but some have been backed
privately since the UK High Street banks
were far too tardy in making decisions
and coming forward to support. The
factory’s efficiency has been significantly
improved with the use of modern ‘lean’
manufacturing techniques brought in
by experienced management.
The primary strategy is to expand
the capacity of the manufacturing
plant, to enable M&A Pharmachem
Ltd to compete further at home and
internationally. The significant recent
investment in new machinery means
the firm is well placed to deliver cost
efficiencies to its customers in the future.
Working directly with the bodies that
manage pharmaceutical supplies into the
NHS, we hope to save significant funds for the NHS while maintaining a healthy bottom line for our further growth.
The European Union’s Falsified Medicines Directive is a major development in the pharmaceuticals industry currently. This is a system that will ensure all medicines prescribed to a patient have a unique identifying number that can be scanned and checked against a central database. It will guarantee they are completely authentic. The directive is to be fully in force by February 2019 and the company is well on target to achieve this costly but important change.
Sister Company
CD Medical Ltd is a successful UK medical device company also based in Westhoughton. It supplies medical devices in the therapy areas of urinary and bowel blockages, skin care, wound care and swallowing difficulties.
The business was started more than a decade ago with the belief to take established medical devices, improve them and make them more cost effective. The first CD Medical product was Irripod, a twist-off ampoule containing sterile saline, used across the NHS and private sector for cleansing wounds. Currently market leader in its category, Irripod has gone from strength to strength with its effective design and cost-efficiency.
Increasing capacity while maintaining standards
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T5 granulation suite
3M&A PHARMACHEM |
MANUFACTURING EDITION
Though some CD products have
always been manufactured in the
UK, our drive over the last 18 months
has been to shift most of the other
products’ manufacturing to the
UK. We aim to support a stronger
Britain and also to provide a
profitable foundation from which the
business can grow.
Bearing 600 solar panels on the
warehouse roof, CD is self-sufficient
for electricity and enjoys this green
credential. Operating on a low-cost
basis with 25 full time employees and
a turnover of £7 million, CD Medical is
well set for future growth.
Onwards
With a new senior management team,
introduced in late 2015, the company’s
outlook is where possible to support
British, locally based manufacturers,
to build profitable businesses that are
sustainable and socially responsible.
CD Medical plans to support the local
economy with sustained, profitable
growth by the careful selection and refinement of the products for the therapy areas we operate in and to further expand into them.
We aim to launch four significant new products in 2017/8. Two will be manufactured elsewhere in the UK, but the third is planned to be made at our sister company ‘up the road’ at M&A Pharmachem. The final product will be initially made overseas but will eventually be brought in house and be fabricated at Head Office in Westhoughton. This will create employment for the local community.
And Finally
With the significant fresh capital being poured into both companies, new products are coming through the pipe line. Existing customers are looking for increased supplies, and with export opportunities presenting themselves regularly, the future looks bright for both M&A and CD Medical!
This will create employment for the local community
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Bosch TLT 1400