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DRAXIS, SGF and Mr. Bernard Landry inaugurate new manufacturing line.
Mississauga, Ontario and Montréal, Québec, June 5, 2000 - DRAXIS Pharma, a subsidiary of DRAXIS Health Inc. (TSE: DAX; NASDAQ: DRAX) today officially opened its new lyophilization line. The ceremony was attended by Mr. Bernard Landry, Deputy Prime Minister of Québec, and Minister of State for the Economy and Finance, Dr. Martin Barkin, President and Chief Executive Officer of DRAXIS, Mr. Claude Blanchet, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Société générale de financement du Québec (SGF), and members of Montréal’s business community. Mr. Landry delivered a short speech to mark the occasion and said, "the government of Québec, through the SGF and Investissement Québec, is very happy to be a partner and shareholder in DRAXIS Pharma. The new sterile lyophilization process will allow DRAXIS Pharma to more fully participate in the growing pharmaceutical and biotech sector within the province of Québec. Since its acquisition by DRAXIS, the number of employees at DRAXIS Pharma has almost doubled, and we are pleased that a further 30 new permanent jobs are expected to be created within the next three years."
Dr. Martin Barkin, President and CEO of DRAXIS Health stated, "we are very pleased about our relationship with SGF, and the support and expertise they contribute. We are confident that this constructive and worthwhile partnership will help assure the expansion and growth of the DRAXIS businesses that reside in this building, namely DRAXIS Pharma and DRAXIMAGE." Finally, the president of SGF, Mr. Claude Blanchet, stated that their CDN$7.5 million investment in DRAXIS Pharma precisely reflects the mission of their organization. "From a financial point of view, we expect that our involvement will be very profitable both for SGF and for DRAXIS Pharma. From an economic development perspective, the job creation impact at DRAXIS Pharma, as well the opportunity to participate in the growing pre‑eminence of the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sectors in Québec, are undoubtedly, very positive considerations."
Investissement Québec has also injected $1,812,500 to create and maintain jobs.
DRAXIS Pharma is a cGMP compliant contract pharmaceutical manufacturer with capabilities in a broad range of sterile and non-sterile dosage forms for canadian, U.S. and international markets. DRAXIS Pharma’s 242,000 square‑foot world class facility, located in Kirkland, Québec, was acquired by DRAXIS Health in 1998 and recently completed a $14 million capital improvement program including the installation of a sterile lyophilization line. DRAXIS Pharma provides contract manufacturing services to a number of major pharmaceutical companies.
The mission of Société générale de financement du Québec is to realize economic development projects meeting normal profitability requirements, in collaboration with business partners. Since it was restructured in 1998, SGF has generated investments of about $2 billion, leading to the creation of over 9,000 direct and indirect jobs in the operating phase, not counting the thousands of jobs created during the construction phase. As of December 31, 1999, SGF’s consolidated assets totalled close to $2 billion. SGF has 40 international partners operating in Québec.
DRAXIS Health Inc. is a diversified speciality pharmaceutical company operating in three niche markets: Radiopharmaceuticals (DRAXIMAGE), Canadian sales and marketing (DRAXIS Pharmaceutica) and Companion Animal Health (through its global alliance with Pfizer Inc.). DRAXIS supports its own as well as third party manufacturing requirements through its subsidiary, DRAXIS Pharma, located in Kirkland, Québec.
Investissement Québec is a Crown corporation with all the means necessary both to attract foreign investment and to assist developing Québec companies of every size to create jobs. It can exert considerable capital leverage in promoting investment projects in Québec that meet the government’s priorities on economic development.
Except for historical information, this news release contains certain forward‑looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. Such factors include, but are not limited to, changing market conditions, clinical trial results, the establishment of new corporate alliances, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the timely development, regulatory approval and market acceptance of the Company’s products, and other risks detailed from time‑to‑time in the Company’s filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities authorities.
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Source :
At Draxis :
Paul Lee
Tel.: ext. 246 - E-mail :
At SGF :
Sylvie Brousseau
Tel.:
E-mail :
At the deputy prime minister’s cabinet :
Hubert Landry
Tel. :
At Invest Québec :
Josée Morin
Tel. : -
E-mail :
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