28 July 2013
Since being established in the Manawatu 42 years ago, NZP now exports products to over 50 countries worldwide.
Operations Director, Ed Teece, explains that its core business remains the supply of pharmaceutical intermediates and active ingredients to the global pharmaceutical industry. These products are used in the formulation of drug products (medicines) used in the treatment of a range of conditions including liver and kidney disorders.
“Over the years we’ve specialised in this niche area and cultivated a team with an international reputation as high quality bile acid and carbohydrate experts,” Ed Teece says.
“We remain one of the two global leaders in the manufacture of bile acids and derivatives.”
As part of the $15 million programme, NZP is doubling the capacity of its storage and distribution facilities and building new GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) finishing areas to meet the increasingly stringent international regulatory requirements demanded in the manufacture of Bile Acids.
In the last 10 years NZP has also diversified. Its subsidiary company, JTB (Just the Berries) extracts anti-oxidants from blackcurrants used in health supplements and nutraceuticals.
In 2009 NZP purchased Dextra Laboratories in Reading, England, a company that specialises in carbohydrate chemistry. The research and development carried out by Dextra is focused on supporting the development of new chemical entities for the pharmaceutical industry and is also being used to further strengthen the bile acids R&D capabilities at NZP.
NZP’s impressive history and achievements were presented to the British High Commissioner, Vicki Treadell, when she visited the headquarters last Friday, July 19.
NZP’s Executive Director, Dr Barry Old, presented an overview of the company, its history and milestones and Ed Teece provided Mrs Treadell with a tour of the existing facilities and where the major new developments are taking place. During the tour Mrs Treadell was introduced to a number of staff including four UK scientists who have been seconded to Palmerston North from the company’s Reading (Dextra) site.
NZP also presented a submission to the British High Commissioner seeking assistance to obtain British Government funding and research and development grants to support activities at NZP’s Reading facility.
NZP employs around 150 staff across its two sites, and exports several hundred tonnes of product a year at a value of many millions of dollars.
Ed Teece also commented that NZP’s future objectives have moved in the past 2-3 years to a more specialised strategy focussed on new bile acid development, increased use of carbohydrates through Dextra, its British subsidiary, and continuing clinical trials in partnership with the US National Institute of Health for ManNAc, a carbohydrate product showing great potential in the treatment of certain kidney disorders.
“The market continues to focus heavily on investigating new treatments for rare and often untreatable conditions. NZP can play a role by providing some of the ingredients,” said Dr Selwyn Yorke (Business Development Manager).
“It gives us great satisfaction in knowing that NZP is providing treatment for a number of rare medical conditions.”
For further information contact:
Dr Selwyn Yorke (Business Development Manager) - selwyn.yorke@nzp.co.nz
Jim Beaumont (Business Development Director) - jim.beaumont@dextrauk.com
