A COUNTY Durham pharma company has officially broken ground on a £92m expansion it says will support production of next generation medicines.

GlaxoSmithKline is building an aseptic base to make and supply injectable liquids for treatments of HIV and respiratory and auto-immune diseases.

The Northern Echo previously revealed the plant could support the launch of a fresh remedy for lupus, with bosses confirming they were submitting plans for regulatory approval for a new therapy to ease symptoms such as facial rashes and extreme tiredness.

Plans for the factory were approved last month and officials yesterday (Tuesday, March 21) buried a time capsule at the company’s sprawling Barnard Castle base to formally mark the start of work.

Speaking exclusively to the Echo, Alastair Leighton, site director, said the expansion would help the company continue achieving its ultimate goal, which is meeting patients’ varied and changing requirements He said: “If you are using an injectable, you would expect a company like GlaxoSmith- Kline to bring all the best practices to bear to make sure it is safe.

“Our ambition is to meet and exceed expectations and we have to keep re-lifing our assets.

“We take care and continue to develop the assets we have already invested in to make sure they maintain their integrity.

“But, at some point, we need to draw on these new investments and this is the right time to do it.

“It will give us the capability to make sterile liquid products at Barnard Castle for the next 20 to 30 years.”

Nigel Wood, the company’s engineering director, who is overseeing the aseptic development, added: “It is a long time since we had this opportunity.

“The capital we are getting into the site leads to employment for other companies in the area too.

“It is key we got this (because it helps in) securing the jobs on the site, but it’s also securing what we put into the local economy as well.”

GlaxoSmithKline’s Barnard Castle factory is one of the company’s largest secondary manufacturing sites, employing around 1,100 people.

It supplies nearly half a million packs of products every day to 140 global markets.