Sharp Packaging Services, A Division Of UDG Healthcare Plc, Announces Capacity Expansion In The US And UK

Sharp Packaging Services (“Sharp”), a division of UDG Healthcare plc, a leading international healthcare services provider, announces capacity expansion projects in the US and the UK.

In the US, Sharp has purchased a 146,000 square foot pharmaceutical packaging facility in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, US from Daiichi Sankyo Inc. (“DSI”) for a total consideration of $14M, including all equipment and employees. The facility is FDA approved and currently includes four packaging equipment lines, cold and frozen storage, office space, warehousing and an analytical laboratory.

As part of the transaction, DSI will also become a commercial and clinical client, with Sharp providing packaging services for a number of their US branded products and clinical trial activity. This acquisition is expected to have an immaterial impact on FY17 profitability.

In the UK, Sharp has announced a £9M (c. $11.3M) investment in a new facility in Rhymney, South Wales for its clinical packaging business. The initial phase of the expansion, which is expected to be completed by late 2018, will involve the acquisition and renovation of a 110,000 square foot facility within the site, more than triple the size of the current UK facility. Initially 75,000 square foot will be fitted out. The site also benefits from the potential for further significant capacity expansion.

Mike O’Hara, Managing Director of Sharp Packaging Services commented: “In line with our growth strategy, we are delighted to announce two exciting developments for the Sharp division. We continue to add further capacity and scalability to both our commercial and clinical packaging businesses in response to growing demand for our packaging services.”

About UDG Healthcare plc
UDG Healthcare plc is a leading international partner of choice delivering commercial, clinical, communications and packaging services to the healthcare industry, employing almost 8,000 people with operations in 23 countries and delivering services in over 50 countries.

UDG Healthcare plc operates across three divisions: Ashfield, Sharp and Aquilant.

Ashfield is a global leader in commercialisation services for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, operating across two broad areas of activity: commercial & clinical services, and communications services. It focuses on supporting healthcare professionals and patients at all stages of the product life cycle. The division provides field and contact centre sales teams, healthcare communications, patient support, audit, advisory, medical information and event management services to over 300 healthcare companies.

Sharp is a global leader in contract commercial packaging and clinical trial packaging services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, operating from state of the art facilities across the US and Europe. Sharp is also a world leader in ’Track and Trace’ serialisation services, which will require all prescription drugs to have a unique serial code for authentication and traceability.

Aquilant is a leading provider of outsourced sales, marketing, distribution and engineering services to the medical and scientific sectors in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.

For more information, visit www.udghealthcare.com

About Sharp Packaging Services:
Sharp Packaging Services, a division of UDG Healthcare, is a global leader in contract packaging and clinical services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Operating from state-of-the-art facilities across the US and Europe, Sharp has built an international reputation for delivering cost-effective blister packaging, bottling, pouches and stick packs, compliance packaging, formulation and manufacturing services, label design and printing. Sharp is also a world leader in ’Track and Trace’ serialization services, which will require all prescription drugs to have a unique serial code for authentication and traceability. For more information, visit www.sharpservices.com.