Canadian drug firm moving to Triangle

Patheon Inc. (TSX:PTI), a provider of drug-development and manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical industry, said Wednesday that it plans to move its headquarters from Toronto to Durham and open an analytical development laboratory in Research Triangle Park.

“The RTP and Durham locations are both rapidly growing centers for pharmaceutical manufacturing and service providers, offering a high availability of pharmaceutical scientists, access to customers and an excellent quality of life for its residents with an affordable cost of living," Patheon Chief Executive and President Wes Wheeler said in a statement.

"This move positions us to attract top talent from the industry and represents another step towards our vision of becoming (the) best provider of manufacturing and development services to the pharmaceutical industry.”

Patheon has more than 300 customers in the U.S. and derives about half of its revenue from them, Wheeler said.

The analytical development facility will be built to support the company's pharmaceutical development operations in Cincinnati and will initially offer stability studies, validation testing and analytical chemistry services. The RTP lab is expected to be ready for operation in the next three months.

The move won't impact Patheon’s presence in Ontario, Canada, where it operates four facilities with more than 1,500 employees, Wheeler said.