Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. has announced the acquisition of a
140,000 square foot facility in Bethlehem
Township, Pennsylvania
from Amcor, a global packaging manufacturer. This acquisition, worth $10.25MM,
enables DSI to leverage existing resources to more cost-effectively supplement
its operations rather than build a new facility. The facility is expected to be
operational in the summer or early fall of 2011 and is expected to package some
of company’s portfolio of marketed products, such as Benicar®, Welchol® and
Azor®. Once the facility is operating at full capacity, it is expected to
assume an increasing responsibility for packaging the entire line of marketed
products in the U.S.,
as well as perform compounding operations for select products.

“Creating and protecting family-sustaining jobs in Pennsylvania
is one of this administration’s highest priorities, so I’m pleased to announce
Daiichi Sankyo’s decision to select PA as the site for its first-ever U.S.
packaging and manufacturing plant,” said Governor Corbett.  “By
creating approximately 80 jobs, continuing the productive use of a facility
that would otherwise have been closed, and injecting more than $15 million in
outside investment into the local economy, this project will have a definite
positive impact on the Lehigh
Valley region.”

DSI conducted a comprehensive national site search with
McCallum Sweeney Consulting to identify an existing facility that mirrored the
company’s packaging goals and specifications. After a national screening of 62
sites in 48 communities in 12 states, the company selected the site in Bethlehem. Upon
completing the initial phase of the renovation, DSI plans to hire approximately
80 new employees and will create a positive economic impact through related
purchasing of goods and services from local businesses.

“This acquisition diversifies our company’s
capabilities and allows us to streamline our operations and minimize
commercialization risk by exerting greater control over the life cycle of our
products, from research and development through packaging and
distribution,” said Jeff Lane, Vice President of Operations, Daiichi
Sankyo, Inc. “We are excited to be opening a facility in Bethlehem and
look forward to a productive future working relationship and becoming a part of
the local community. The Governor’s Action Team, Lehigh Valley Economic
Development Corporation, the Northampton
County and City of Bethlehem were invaluable partners in helping
to make this milestone possible.”