Pharmaceutical company Pharmadox Healthcare Ltd has expanded its factory and laboratories in the Corradino Industrial Estate following a €6.5 million investment.

The company, which employs 180 people and offers testing services to pharmaceutical companies abroad, has expanded its laboratories and stores and bought high-end equipment with help from Malta Enterprise and INDIS.

Prime Minister Robert Abela inaugurated the expansion of the factory and visited the building of a second factory with Economy Minister Silvio Schembri on Monday morning. 

Abela said the government wanted to strengthen the pharmaceutical industry, which is considered an area of excellence for the country and would push at a European level to strengthen the production of medicines in Europe.

"I want to see that in this area, the European Union offers more funds for research and innovation so that this industry continues to strengthen and to have more environmentally sustainable processes", he said. 

He pledged the government would continue to invest in education that prepares students for specialised jobs in emerging fields.

The company has grown from a 50 square metre laboratory to an area of more than 1,500 square metres of laboratories, stores and cold rooms. It began life with six workers in 2010 and has grown to employ 180 workers. 

Schembri said the growth of the company demonstrated the confidence the private sector has in the economy of the country. 

"This continues to bode well for the future of our country," he said.

"Such expansions are also possible thanks to the joint work between various entities including INDIS and Malta Enterprise, which as shown in this case are working side by side with the private sector, with the schemes they offer."