Glenmark Pharmaceuticals announces first US plant

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals plans to create a manufacturing facility in Monroe, N.C., the first in the United States for the Mumbai, India-based company, according to a press release.

The company has several new molecules in development, with its primary focus on areas of inflammation, including asthma, COPD and rheumatoid arthritis, and neuropathic and inflammatory pain, the release said. Glenmark’s North American subsidiary, Glenmark Generics, has a portfolio of 90 products authorized for distribution in the US focused on dermatology, hormones, controlled substances, oncology and modified release products.

The 100,000 square-foot facility is expected to begin manufacturing operations at the end of the 2014-15 fiscal year, according to the release. The facility will join Glenmark’s plants in India, Brazil, Argentina and the Czech Republic. The company will begin work on an oral solid unit, before setting up manufacturing for injectables and topicals.

“The US is a key strategic market for Glenmark, and it is important for us to have a manufacturing base here to serve our growing business in the country,” Glenn Saldanha, chairman and managing director, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, said in the release. “Over the next 5 years, we will make significant investments in this proposed facility.”