Siegfried Generics (Malta) Limited yesterday became the 11th pharmaceutical company to set up operations in Malta in the past four to five years.
IT and Investment Minister Austin Gatt toured the new facilities and with typical tongue in cheek said he was very satisfied at the fact that a Swiss company had come to the Mediterranean to invest in Malta.
“We hope that this can be the first step in encouraging more Swiss companies to invest in this country,” said Dr Gatt.
He was first given a tour of the facilities, which are operational, before speeches were made by the company CEO and chairman, Douglas Gunthardt and Markus Altwegg respectively.
Mr Gunthardt made an introductory speech and joked that the main reason that the company decided to invest in Malta was the weather (bearing in mind yesterday’s untimely and fierce rainstorms).
Dr Altwegg then took the floor and said that before choosing Malta, Siegfried Ltd had considered several other possible locations in Asia, Eastern Europe, Spain and Portugal.
“At the end, we clearly decided to invest here in this beautiful island. Three aspects are of vital importance for producing and selling generic drugs successfully: the availability for delivery of the finished product on the first day following patent expiration, the ability to produce generics at a low cost and the high quality of the products,” said Mr Altwegg.
He said that Malta may not have been the best in terms of each aspect, but it was certainly the best overall. Mr Altwegg also said that Malta was a relatively economical location, especially with regard to labour costs in comparison with North and Central European countries.
“At the beginning, we had a few reservations over whether we would find the right people to run our operation in Malta. We soon realised that we were wrong. We have found excellent staff, mainly from Malta, who will ensure that we can maintain the high standards set by the Maltese authorities,” he said.
Mr Altwegg also reminded those present that this was only the first phase of the company’s operation and that after this validation phase, the next would kick in towards the second half of the year.
Dr Gatt said that the pharmaceutical industry has become a cornerstone of the Maltese economy in the past years. “There are some 600 employed in the industry locally and that figures is expected to rise by some 100 this year. There is growth every year, and such companies add to Malta’s value added exports,” said Dr Gatt. He said that the government was committed to making Malta a place which is ideal for the industry by providing the right business conditions and making sure that there are enough graduates turned out by tertiary education institutions at the times they are needed.
Malta Enterprise chairman Alec Mizzi said that Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks (MIP)’s strategy has been to ensure that the supporting infrastructure develops together with the availability of suitably qualified and skilled human resources.
“The Pharma Park at Hal Far is serving the industry well and there is still space to accommodate new companies that want to set up operations here. Production premises to each company’s specific requirements are made readily available. These are designed, constructed and located in a controlled environment, thus enabling the occupants to easily acquire a GMP licence as well as approval from the FDA, the MHRA and other regulatory authorities.”
In addition MIP has announced the construction of new factory stock for the pharma industry to accommodate those new investors requiring rapid mobilisation. “This is clear confirmation, if ever this were required, of our support of the pharma industry for the long term,” said Mr Mizzi.