19 Oct 2009 12:41

NCPC constructing pharmaceutical park in Hebei

Shanghai. October 19. INTERFAX-CHINA -North China Pharmaceutical Group Corp. (NCPC) started construction of a new pharmaceutical park in Hebei Province on Oct. 18, it announced on the same day.

According to the announcement, the RMB 11 billion ($1.61 billion) pharmaceutical park is located within Shijiazhuang Economic and Technology Development Zone in the provincial capital and will be constructed in three stages. Upon completion of construction, NCPC will relocate all its 11 production facilities to the park.

The key aspect of first-stage construction, which will be complete by December 2010, involves the construction of a new cephalosporin antibiotics manufacturing facility, estimated to cost RMB 2 billion ($292.83 million) and take 12 months to build. The cephalosporin manufacturing facility will generate RMB 8 billion ($1.17 billion) in annual sales revenue once it enters full production in two years' time, the announcement said.

"NCPC aims to produce more types of cephalosporin antibiotics and become the leading cephalosporin antibiotics manufacturer in China," NCPC president Wang Sheping said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

"The park will also specialize in the research and development of cephalosporin antibiotics, genetically-engineered drugs, antineoplastic drugs and antiviral drugs," Wang said.

Shijiazhuang-headquartered NCPC forecasts that its annual sales revenue will hit RMB 10 billion ($1.46 billion), RMB 20 billion ($2.93 billion) and RMB 30 billion ($4.39 billion) in 2011, 2013 and 2015 respectively. The company recorded sales revenue of RMB 4.9 billion ($717.42 million) in 2008.

-YCX