Yamanouchi Building Plant In Oklahoma

Japanese drugmaker Yamanouchi is to construct a new solid formulationpharmaceutical manufacturing plant in the USA, to be located in Norman, Oklahoma, the location of the US subsidiary Shaklee. Ground-breaking for the new plant, which will involve costs of some $23.5 million, took place March 4.

The first phase of the production facility will house a line for manufacturing tamsulosin (sold in Japan as Harnal), a treatment for the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia, for the US market. The product is currently under review with the US Food and Drug Administration.

Second and third phases will see the construction of two more production lines, which will use new Yamanouchi technology, including that for WOWTA orally-disintegrating tablets, to make various solid formulations. In addition, quality assurance, administration and warehousing facilities will be expanded.