Following a review over the past few months of its of its manufacturing capacity relative to customer needs and market trends across its product portfolio, Veranova’s Macfarlan Smith subsidiary has announced a proposal to close its facility at Newbie, near Annan in Scotland. It will now conduct statutory consultation requirements under UK law.

CEO Niek Stapel said: “Every effort has been made to avoid proposing the closure of the plant. This was a difficult decision to make which in no way reflects the performance or commitment of our colleagues at Annan.”

Pharmaceutical CDMO Evotec has acquired GlaxoSmithKline’s site at Verona, Italy, where its Aptuit subsidiary is already active, employing 750. Terms were not disclosed. Following a meeting with site workers, the company has also agreed to rename the site Campus Levi-Montalcini, in honour of the Italian Nobel laureate Rita Levi-Montalcini.

Drug discovery firm Evotec, owner of the API manufacturer Aptuit, is a member of the Project to Accelerate New Treatments for Tuberculosis (PAN-TB) collaboration, which was launched formally on 27 February. This will aim to transform global action on TB, which causes more deaths than any other infectious disease, with 10 million new cases and 1.5 million deaths recorded in 2018.