Northern Ireland pharmaceutical giant Almac has announced plans to take on another 100 people after investing £11m in the last 18 months on its analytical services.

Almac Sciences and Almac Pharma Services said the money has been spent on expanding their laboratories in order to meet demand.

The business is headquartered in Craigavon, and develops and manufactures drugs. It currently employs around 6,464, and had a pay bill in its most recent accounts of £356.4m.

The company plans to add 100 more analysts to its existing 700-strong analyst team in its five locations around the world.

The investment has seen them add new instruments to their laboratories, which enable their staff to perform new techniques. The training and development of staff has also seen investment.

Darren Thomas, vice president analytical operations, Almac Sciences, said: “We have experienced a significant increase in demand for our dedicated analytical solutions and recognise the importance of continually investing, not just in our systems and facilities, but also in our people.

“We are committed to offering a best-in-class service to our global client base and are delighted to continue at pace with significant investment across our UK, EU and US facilities in order to strengthen our competitive position in the marketplace.”

Trevor Clarke, vice president analytical operations, Almac Pharma Services, said: “We are positioned as the partner of choice with significant experience in a wide range of analytical services to meet the varying requirements of our clients’ unique development and commercial programmes.

“As we continue to expand our global analytical capabilities, we remain committed to delivering excellence.

“This significant investment in innovative technology, skilled talent, and state-of-the-art laboratories underscores our dedication to providing comprehensive analytical solutions for our clients worldwide.”