GlaxoSmithKline injects $60 million into Australian state of Victoria

The Australian subsidiary of UK drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) says that it will invest A$60 million ($64.6 million) to expand its manufacturing and new drug development activities in the state of Victoria. The investment will create 58 new highly-skilled jobs by 2017.

GSK has had a base in Australia since 1886 and is already a significant contributor to the Victorian economy in terms of employment, exports, manufacturing and local R&D investment. Each year the company spends on average more than A$30 million a year on R&D in Victoria and consistently export more than A$300 million per annum in pharmaceutical products from the state.

GSK's Boronia site, 29km east of downtown Melbourne, manufactures medicines for conditions including migraine, herpes, epilepsy, smoking cessation, hypertension, asthma, pain relief and anti-virals. The site is also the company's largest site globally for the production of sterile and non-sterile liquid products that utilize state-of-the-art 'blow-fill-seal' (BFS) technology. The A$60 million investment will allow GSK to potentially double its current BFS manufacturing capacity by installing new production technology.