Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK) has confirmed that it will invest more than £500m in the UK across its manufacturing sites to increase production of key active ingredients for its pharmaceutical products and vaccines. The company has said that Ulverston in Cumbria will be the location for the first new GSK manufacturing facility to be built in the UK for almost 40 years.

Investment will also be made at the company’s two manufacturing sites in Scotland at Montrose and Irvine. In total, it is anticipated these investments will create up to 1,000 new jobs over the lifetime of the projects and will also benefit the wider construction industry and the many companies which supply GSK with services and facilities in the UK.

These investments represent one of the largest commitments to the UK life-sciences sector in recent years. They follow confirmation by the Government in the Budget that it will implement a ‘patent box’ to encourage investment in R&D and related manufacturing in the UK, by introducing a lower rate of corporation tax on profits generated from UK-owned intellectual property.

Detailed planning and design of the new facility will begin, with an anticipated start date for construction of 2014/15 say GSK, dependent on portfolio timing and obtaining necessary planning and related consents. It is likely to take at least six years before the plant is fully operational.

GSK also announced that it is considering further significant manufacturing investment at Ulverston which could double the total investment at the site to approximately £700m and create further jobs in the longer term, depending on continued improvements in the environment for innovation in the UK.