€18-million investment in a new, state-of-the-art facility

Driving innovation is the key factor behind Ceva Santé Animale's pharmaceutical strategy and to meet the demand of future growth, the global veterinary health group invested €18 million in renovating and extending the controlled atmosphere production areas at its pharmaceutical plant in Libourne.

After two and a half years of work carried out without shutting down existing production facilities, an extension of 500 square metres has now been completed, along with the renovation of 1,000 square metres of existing floor areas and installation of new manufacturing and filling equipment.

This plant for the future has been designed to allow Ceva the possibility of making further developments in line with changes in product demand and pharmaceutical regulations.

Emmanuel Coudré, Libourne Site Director, said: “This project was an essential step to support our ambitions and secure the plant’s competitive edge. Up to 18 million 100-ml vials can be produced by the plant each year, and the first order for China will be leaving next week. This new, high-performance industrial facility uses modern technologies in a state-of-the-art environment to comply with the highest international standards of good manufacturing practice (GMP) and provide optimal working conditions for production personnel.”

Offering employees ideal working conditions

From a very early stage in the engineering studies, the project was designed with the future working conditions of the 130 employees of the plant in mind (out of a total workforce of 670 in Libourne). In addition to light, spacious premises, all the facilities have been designed to limit direct exposure of operators to the products they are handling to the absolute minimum (automated closed-­circuit processes, dust extraction arm, etc.), and also handling of heavy loads by choosing the most adapted technologies.

Ambitions 2020: reach the world top 5

In 15 years of existence, Ceva Santé Animale has multiplied its size by five, posting constant double-digit growth on its way to joining the top 10 veterinary biopharmaceutical groups.

The Group is now present in 110 countries with sales of €700 million in 2013, of which 90 per cent is international. Ceva’s rapid expansion has been driven both by organic growth (60 per cent) and by external growth (40 per cent) through 26 acquisitions made since its launch in 2000.

As for the future, Chairman and CEO, Marc Prikazsky said: “Our ambition is stay independent and enter the top five global animal health companies by 2020. We have constantly invested in our R&D and industrial capacity to help fuel our record of double-digit growth. This latest investment of €18 million in our sterile products production facility in Libourne is part of a much wider programme to build for the future.”