Barr Labs Purchases Production Plant

US company Barr Laboratories has agreed to acquire a 65,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Virginia for the sum of $2.3 million, which it will use to manufacture pharmaceutical products.

Over the current year, the firm expects to invest over $5 million in construction to retrofit the facility for the manufacture of generics. It will also invest around $4.3 million to purchase and install equipment. Around $2.4 million will be spent to outfit laboratory and support facilities. Barr estimates that the facility will come on-line in 1997 and could ultimately employ as many as 120 people from the local area.

"Barr's management has spent the last year exploring our long-term manufacturing capacity needs," commented Bruce Downey, chairman, president, and chief executive of Barr. He added: "depending on new product development and approvals, we anticipate that the company could need to nearly triple current capacity within the next 2-3 years."