Siegfried breaks ground in NETDA

Siegfried, a Swiss pharmaceutical company that provides products and tailor made services that integrate seamlessly into a customer's value chain, broke ground for its new subsidiary in the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area, Nantong of Jiangsu province, on July 17, with an initial investment of $78.6 million and registered capital of $50 million.

Heinrich Schellenberg, the Swiss consul-general in Shanghai, Qiang Qiang, vice-secretary of the area's Party committee, and other local officials took part in the foundation laying ceremony, on July 17, according to area officials.

Siegfried Nantong is expected to go into operation in the first half of 2014, and develop a top bulk pharmaceutical chemicals and intermediates plant in conformance with Good Manufacturing standards. Plans call for it to become the parent company's largest pharmaceutical manufacturing base worldwide, with an annual output worth more than 2 billion yuan ($326 m).

Qiang, the head of the area, said at the ceremony that Siegfried Nantong will help area develop and improve its pharmaceutical chain with pharmaceutical clusters. He said he expects the project to bring sound economic results.

Zhang Guohua, the mayor of Nantong, joined Nantong officials in meeting with Schellenberg and Gilbert Achermann, chairman of the parent company, on July 16, and expressed their congratulations for the project.

Edited by Zhao Qian and Roger Bradshaw