The Wasdell Group (Wasdell), a national company that provides a range of contract services to the life science industry, is investing £500k in its Newcastle upon Tyne facility to create a new laboratory and extend its service offering.
The 1,200 sq.ft lab is the latest addition to the company’s manuacturing site on Newburn Riverside and will allow Wasdell to offer more services to pharmaceutical and veterinary drug makers.
The facility will attract new talent to the area, creating roles in analytical positions across quality assurance and project management.
Daniel Tedham, managing director at Wasdell said: “The latest investment is part of a strategy that ensures we continue to grow the number and quality of services we can offer to existing and new clients across the globe.
“Our Newcastle site is an important part of this strategy as the North East’s pharmaceutical industry is thriving and will allow us to recruit excellent people.
“The new lab opens the door for further investment in the Newcastle facility and future opportunities for growth to meet our clients’ requirements. The region is fast-becoming a pharmaceutical hub and we are proud to play a role in that.”
The Newcastle facility has seen steady growth in the number of drug development and manufacturing projects performed on the site. The new lab will allow Wasdell to offer microbiological and analytical services to its global customer-base.
This investment is the first phase of the company’s expansion strategy to add to its laboratory capabilities. The second phase will include the opening of a new laboratory at the Dundalk site to futureproof Wasdell’s offering for the European market in the event of a hard Brexit.