Janssen Pharmaceutica Pharmaceuticals Plant, Geel, Belgium

Janssen Pharmaceutica, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, decided to build a new pharmaceutical plant in Geel in Belgium in 1998. The site was chosen because of the logistics (the site being central to many sites in Europe it was required to supply) and also because of the availability of quality personnel. The new plant functions as part of a complex of plants and pharmaceutical research facilities, which are in the company's key production hubs in the European Union.

Although a subsidiary of a larger group, the owner of the plant remains sizeable in its own right, with over 80 drugs to its name. A total of 3,721 staff were employed by the company by the end of 1996. As of 2005 Janssen Pharmaceutica employed 4,751 staff in Beerse and Geel and Janssen Biotech had a total of 34 staff, while the company's co-ordination centre employed 35. The Geel plant has been expanded a number of times since it was first opened to enhance its production capacity as it plays such a major role in the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical business.

PHARMACEUTICAL RAW MATERIALS

The new Geel manufacturing facility focuses largely on the production of raw materials for pharmaceuticals, 70% of which are supplied directly to its parent company Johnson & Johnson. The close proximity of other Johnson & Johnson production sites, including those owned by Janssen Pharmaceutica, offer a ready market as well as considerable economies of scale. Strategically, the group benefits from a secure, close and cheap source of supply for its raw materials.

CONSTRUCTION AND EXPANSION

The initial Geel project involved an investment of $28m. Construction at the site began in 1998 and work was scheduled for completion at the end of 2000. The plant entered full production in early 2001. In July 2001 Janssen Pharmaceutica contracted DHV to engineer and construct two horizontal dryers as an extension to Plant One at Geel. The new multi-purpose drying facility in the class 100,000 facility consisted of two multi-purpose horizontal dryers of 2,000 litre capacity with associated vacuum units, clean rooms and utility building. DHV were contracted to design, construct and validate the building, clean rooms, HVAC, process piping and instrumentation.

ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES AND SEWER WASTE MANAGEMENT

Janssen Pharmaceutica maintains a high degree of respect for the environment at every stage of production. Measures are taken to ensure that as many solvents as possible are recycled. Furthermore, all gas emissions are cleaned through a carbon filter and waste effluent is treated in ultra-modern water-treatment plants.

In mid-July 2001 DHV were contracted by Janssen Pharmaceutica to install new site process sewers at Geel. DHV made a survey of the sewer waste flows at the plant and then designed and constructed a custom system. The new sewers were installed above ground for environmental reasons and easy maintenance. The plant sewer waste can be drained under gravity and the different plants are connected to the main header by frequency controlled pump units. The main header (length 350m) is self-draining and runs to the waste water treatment plant over a new pipe rack (190m). The system is designed for a capacity of 80m³/h with a maximum of 160m³/h.

SMALL VOLUME AREA POWDER UNIT

Many of the pharmaceutical ingredients produced at Geel can be hazardous and need to be handled correctly and safely during production. The small volume area powder unit is a high containment facility, which was designed in 2001 for handling highly potent powders and is one of four separate production installations comprising the high containment production chain. The facility combines state-of-the-art milling installation and high-technology separation with the aid of glove boxes, or isolators.

Engineering for the project was provided by Janssen Chemical Production Engineering. The unit has a floor area of 1,699.41ft² and required an investment of €5.9m to construct and fit out. The plant was finished by April 2002, validated by August 2003 and in full production by April 2004.

The plant produces raw materials for the production of fentanyl (Duragesic), buprenorphine, itraconazole and haloperidol. The facility was designed by Janssen Pharmaceutica Chemical Production Engineering and Central Engineering Department, and Foster Wheeler/BNS Engineering. The equipment was supplied by SKAN, Hosokawa Alpine, AZO, Ensysta and Promatic B.

GALANTAMINE HYDROBROMIDE

The company produces a compound called galantamine hydrobromide at Geel, which is an ingredient used for the treatment of Alzheimer's. The drug has proved invaluable for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders. The drug was validated for sale in Europe and USA by the European registration bureau and the FDA in 2000. The drug has been on the market since 2002 under the name Reminyl.