GSK has announced that it will invest £275 million into three of its manufacturing sites in the UK to boost production and support delivery of its respiratory and large molecule biological drugs.
In a statement the company said that it continues to view the UK as an attractive location for investment in advanced manufacturing due to a number of factors including the skilled workforce, technological and scientific capabilities and infrastructure, and a competitive corporate tax system.
GSK specifically singled out the Patent Box, which encourages investment in R&D and related manufacturing in the UK by delivering a lower rate of corporation tax on profits generated from UK-owned intellectual property.
The investment will be split across three sites: £92 million to Barnard Castle in County Durham, £110 million to Montrose in Angus in Scotland, and £74 million to Ware in Hertfordshire.
The company added: “In addition to jobs associated with the construction of the new facilities, today’s announcement will support current employment at these three sites and is expected to lead to the creation of new employment opportunities.”
CEO Andrew Witty said: “Today’s announcement reflects further investment to support our pharmaceutical pipeline and meet growing demand for our innovative portfolio of newly launched products. It is testament to our skilled UK workforce and the country’s leading position in life sciences that we are making these investments in advanced manufacturing here. From their manufacture in the UK, many of these medicines will be sent to patients around the world.”
Adrian Tombling, patent attorney and Head of the Life Sciences Group at intellectual property firm, Withers & Rogers, commented:
“This is a vote of confidence for the UK economy and demonstrates how much has been achieved to create a fiscal and legislative landscape where companies that invest in innovation can thrive. The introduction of the Patent Box regime in 2013, which allows businesses to pay significantly less corporation tax on any profits they earn from their patented inventions, is viewed as a major benefit to innovative companies and is helping to balance out any Brexit uncertainties.
“From an intellectual property perspective, there is much to play for in the next two years and there is an opportunity to build on the strong commercial proposition that is attracting big businesses like GSK. With the support of industry, we must secure a positive position for Britain that will continue to offer companies in the UK access to pan-European patent and trade mark protection on competitive terms, at the same time as giving them access to other international markets.”
