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| AMPAC Fine Chemicals CEO Aslam Malik, ninth from left, poses with Mayor Samuel Parham of Petersburg, VA, seventh from left, and other company officials during a kick-off ceremony of the former's new plant in the city. Courtesy of SK Holdings |
By Nam Hyun-woo
AMPAC Fine Chemicals, a U.S. drug maker acquired by SK Holdings, started operations at its new active pharmaceutical ingredient plant in Petersburg, Virginia, according to the SK Group unit, Tuesday.
The plant was built by global pharmaceutical firm Boehringer-Ingelheim and acquired by AMPAC in 2016. After refurbishing and upgrading facilities, it is one of the U.S. drug maker's three manufacturing bases in the U.S.
After the kick-off ceremony on Monday (local time), the plant will manufacture up to 180,000 liters of active pharmaceutical ingredients, which refers to the core components of a completed drug product.
"To manufacture advanced drugs, the plant has been through years of upgrades and begun producing four new drugs on long-term contracts," an SK Holdings official said.
SK Holdings, which is also in charge of SK Group's pharmaceutical businesses, acquired AMPAC in July last year. This was the first time a Korean company to acquire a foreign drug maker.
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