Hundreds to lose their jobs if buyer isn’t found for pharmaceutical factory

TriRx has entered into administration as the search begins to find a buyer and save hundreds of jobs in Merseyside

Hundreds of people are expected to lose their jobs as a self-proclaimed “leading player” in the pharmaceutical industry has entered administration. TriRx entered a Notice of Intent to appoint an administrator on August 30, giving the company ten business days to avoid entering administration.

But the company, which employs around 450 people at their factory on Fleming Road in Speke, has confirmed it has been forced to appoint an administrator based on the “current situation with its core customer”. In a statement from Oliver Wright, joint administrator at FTI Consulting, he said: “Today marks a challenging day for everyone involved with the company.

“TriRx Speke Limited operates one of the UK’s leading sites for fermentation-derived products, developing and manufacturing active pharmaceutical ingredients for the veterinary industry. However, the business has been loss making, resulting in a significant funding requirement.

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“The company’s directors and employees have worked tirelessly with key stakeholders in an effort to resolve the situation and safeguard the future of the business. Despite the appointment of administrators, the directors and the joint administrators are hopeful that a sale can be agreed in the coming weeks.

“The administration team will focus on working with employees, the key customer, subcontractors and suppliers to continue production over the next few weeks, while pursuing an accelerated sale of the business.”

The company has facilities in Alabama and Kansas in the United States, and Segre in France. Garston MP Maria Eagle held an urgent meeting with the company a week ago. Ms Eagle, who is Minister for Defence, told the ECHO earlier this week: “On Friday (September 6) I met with site management at TriRx who confirmed a notice of administration had been served.

“There are ongoing discussions between TriRx and Elanco to see if there is a solution that will save the site and save jobs. Discussions are also ongoing with TriRx in the US. I am writing to the corporate centre of Eli Lilly to see if they can keep the plant operational.

“I’ll also be talking to the Office of Life Sciences and the Department of Science and Technology to see what else can be done. I’m hoping to speak to trade union representatives of impacted staff this week.”

Administration is the process where a licensed insolvency practitioner is appointed to oversee and protect a business or limited company. The Notice of Intent is a document filed to a court that states a company’s intentions to enter administration in an attempt to save it from liquidation, with 10 business days to prevent the company going into administration.

TriRx’s facilities in Speke provide drug substance services to “help develop and manufacture” pharmaceutical ingredients. The company’s website said about the site: “Services available include process development and production, non-sterile liquid filling, fermentation, spray drying, coating, pre-mixing, and Speke also has an on-site analytical laboratory for extensive quality control (QC) and stability testing.”