Industry & Business

Chanelle Group, which is the largest Irish-owned manufacturer of human and veterinary pharmaceutical products in Ireland, is undertaking a €70 million investment programme to accelerate the company’s growth and respond to the evolving needs of its customers worldwide.

Headquartered in Loughrea, County Galway, Chanelle Group currently employs 375 people worldwide. The 15 acre site at Loughrea incorporates two manufacturing plants, three research and development centres, warehousing and offices. The company also operates two sales offices in the UK, a commercial office in India and a fourth R&D centre in Jordan.

Established in 1983, Chanelle has since developed into a €100 million turnover business, which exports to over 80 countries worldwide. The enterprising company is still 100% owned by its Founder and Managing Director Michael Burke.

Chanelle manufactures both human and veterinary pharmaceuticals. Its products in human medicine treat a number of conditions including high blood pressure, allergies, Alzheimer’s disease and depression. In animal health, Chanelle manufactures a number of products for small and large animals including anthelmintic (anti-worming), antibiotics, sedatives, NSAIDS Ectoparasiticides and anti-Epileptic Drugs.

Chanelle provides a range of services to its customers including research and development, registration and production of generic pharmaceuticals for both human and veterinary pharmaceuticals. The company provides an end to end solution from development right through to raw materials and finished goods.

Chanelle’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities currently have the capacity to produce 3 billion tablets, 2.5 million liquids and 2 billion capsules per year for human and veterinary products.

International Focus
Chanelle’s key markets are the EU, which generates about 85% of group business, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa and the Middle East. The company has over 1,700 animal health licenses registered in the EU – the largest number of registered veterinary licenses of any company in the EU – and a further 500 licences outside the EU. Chanelle holds over 800 product licences for human health products worldwide. Indeed, the company’s extensive product licenses portfolio reflects its international focus.

Chanelle supplies 10 of the top 12 multinationals in the world with both human and veterinary products. The dynamic company is continuing to expand its customer base in all countries that it currently exports to.

Development
Founded in 1983 by Michael Burke to provide a veterinary distribution service in Ireland, Chanelle commenced manufacturing its own generic Animal Health products in 1985 before expanding into the UK in 1992. The company moved into the research, development and manufacture of generic human medicines in 2000 with the establishment of Chanelle Medical, and eight years later further expanded its overseas business with the creation of Chanelle Vet UK to provide veterinary medicines to Veterinary Practitioners in Britain. Also in 2008, the company established an R&D laboratory in Jordan to concentrate on new product development for human and veterinary medicines.

“In the past five years revenue has grown 100% and employment has increased by over 200 people. This growth has been driven by research and development of new products and the expansion into new markets,” says Michael Burke. “We invest over €8 million annually in research and development and this investment will continue.”

€70 Million Investment Programme
The €70 million investment programme now being implemented by Chanelle at its headquarters in Loughrea will allow the company to continue to grow in international markets. A 30,000 sq ft manufacturing plant, currently under construction, will supplement the existing 220,000 sq ft facilities. The new plant, which is expected to be finished in spring 2017, is being built specifically to meet Chanelle’s growing requirements for the EU and US markets.

In addition to significantly expanding manufacturing capacity at its Loughrea headquarters, Chanelle is also investing in further enhancing its research and development capabilities.

“The investment will allow the company to double production capacity at our Loughrea manufacturing facility and effectively meet the global demand for our market-leading pharmaceuticals and the new products in development,” explains Michael Burke.

The €70 million investment by the Chanelle Group is viewed as a vote of confidence in Ireland as a world class manufacturing location and as a leading centre for research and development in both human and veterinary pharmaceuticals.

“The regulatory standards in Ireland are very high and this stands to the company when seeking registration of new products in other countries, particularly in the EU and outside the EU,” points out Michael Burke. “The country’s highly educated workforce is extremely advantageous. The majority of the jobs the new investment will generate are expected to be third level graduates.”

Organic Growth
“The recent investment is a key landmark in fulfilling Chanelle’s vision as the company is committed to growing organically,” says Michael Burke.

He adds: “The company expects to launch 75 new products to our existing markets in the next five years as well as expansion into new markets including the United States, Central and South America. A further 175 new jobs will be created bringing total employment in Chanelle Group to over 550 people. Revenue is expected to increase by a further 65% over the next five years.”

Meeting Changing Market Requirements
The investment will ensure that Chanelle remains well placed to capitalise on the changing requirements of the global human and veterinary pharmaceutical products market. In human pharmaceuticals, one of the biggest factors impacting the medical sector is the ageing demographic. In animal health, the growth of companion animals is having a dramatic effect on the pharmaceutical industry with a growing demand for product types such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and parasiticides.

“As these trends grow, the need for a more cost effective solution that generic medicine provides will also grow and Chanelle is working on new innovative products to meet this demand,” he remarks.

The Chanelle Founder and Managing Director concludes: “The company is committed to working on new innovative products for the generic pharmaceutical industry. Already, Chanelle expects to launch 75 products over the next five years and this is key to shaping the company’s growth and expansion in to new and existing markets.”