Roche chief has high hopes for Clarecastle plant

There are no plans for any further voluntary redundancy programmes in a Clarecastle pharmaceutical manufacturing plant following confirmation the facility will avoid closure, it emerged this week.

Roche Ireland managing director, Sven Hauptmann, has confirmed it will take a number of months before senior management in the company’s headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, decide what new drug may be manufactured in Clarecastle following an intensive review process.
The Clare Champion has learned that up to five products are being assessed for their suitability by a specialist team in Roche but not all of them will be coming to the Clarecastle plant.
Mr Hauptmann declined to speculate on what new product might be brought to Clarecastle for manufacture, as it would be premature to do so in advance of the completion of the review.
“I am delighted and relieved with the decision to continue operating all our manufacturing sites, including our site in Clarecastle. That allows us at Clarecastle to continue demonstrating the value we add to Roche, as well as the local community.
“The strategic role of the site remains unchanged. We must continue with the efficiencies for the safe and reliable manufacture of our high-quality products,” he said.
The suspension of the drug Dalcetrapib from expensive clinical trials was regarded as a major setback for the company, which employs about 225 permanent and 160 people on contract at its Clarecastle plant.
It was also a huge blow for the Clare and Mid-Western economy, with the loss of at least 50 new permanent jobs and over 100 temporary construction and engineering jobs over a two-year period.
Fears were expressed that the loss of this drug had placed a serious question mark over the future viability of the Clarecastle plant, which has been in operation since 1974. About 29 employees opted for a voluntary redundancy package last year.
Mr Hauptmann was greatly encouraged by the positive comments about the role of Roche in the local economy and community, which were expressed in the local media.
He declined to comment on the investment in Clarecastle before trials were abandoned but acknowledged the plant would benefit in the future from this major expenditure.
“It was disappointing that the development of Dalcetrapib was stopped and we had to revisit all our investment activities to enable us manufacture that drug.
“A lot of activities are going into rebuilding the plant so we can use the plant going forward.
“I can’t predict the future. Roche, like any other business, is continuously assessing its operation and what it can do to improve its overall efficiency to reliably supply medicine to patients.
“Our business plan shows the value of our products and how they will develop,” he said.
“Any manufacturing site lives from the product it makes. Roche isn’t any different. Long-term, we need to ensure we have a number of products we can manufacture. There is no magic number for the number of products we need to produce, it is decided on a case-by-case basis,” he said.
He noted Roche needs new products coming in because their products reduce in their volume, which is part of the constant manufacturing evolution.
Roche Ireland makes drug substances and intermediates for Xenical, CellCept, Invirase and Xeloda. 
Xenical is used to help lose weight for obese and overweight patients.
CellCept is used in the prevention of organ rejection in patients receiving kidney, heart, or liver transplants.
Invirase is for the treatment of HIV-infected adult patients, in combination with Ritonavir and other antiretroviral medicinal products.
Xeloda is used to treat patients with colorectal, breast or colon cancer.
“We need a reliable and cost-efficient supply of electricity and water. We need a good, educated workforce and graduates and planning permission in a reasonable timeframe when we need to modify our plant. Energy is one of our biggest costs,” he said.
The company has installed more efficient motors, which slow down when there is no demand and this has generated cost savings for the company.