On Friday 24th of May, Orient EuroPharma (OEP) opened the door of its manufacturing facility in Huwei Science Park in Yunlin County in an visit organized by Taiwan’s National Development Council. The tour of OEP’s plants was then followed by a visit to PharmaEssentia’s Taichung plant located at the Central Taiwan Science Park.
Founded in 1982, OEP began operations as a prescription drug distributor but has since become a full-scale, multinational pharmaceutical company. In 2018, OEP had more than 900 employees worldwide, 40 percent of which are overseas personnel, with a combined turnover exceeding NTD 5.5 billion (USD 179 million). Since 2000, OEP has established subsidiaries in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines. In 2006, OEP established subsidiaries in Mainland China and is continuing to cultivate the Asia-Pacific market with the goal of becoming the benchmark enterprise in the region.
Currently, OEP has three primary business focuses on prescription medicines, nutricare and anti-ageing, respectively. In addition to these activities, OEP has created two subsidiary companies within the group – Orient Pharma (OP) and OP NanoPharma (OP Nano) – both of which have their manufacturing facilities located on Huwei Science Park.
Established in February 2008, OP focuses on the innovative R&D and manufacturing of specialty pharmaceuticals and is dedicated to developing new dosage forms, new formulations, new indications and new compounds. To date, the company has two unique and innovative drug development technology platforms and five US FDA drug certificates, evidencing its R&D capabilities.
OP’s new plant is the first pharmaceutical factory in Taiwan to be built according to PIC/S GMP, EU GMP and US FDA 21 CFR international standards. The total area of the Yunlin plant is 15,200 square meters (163,600 square feet) and has a production capacity of more than one billion tablets and capsules per year. The facility is conveniently located about an hour and half away from Taipei via high-speed rail.
OP NanoPharma is a joint investment of Orient EuroPharma and NanoCarrier Co., Ltd., in Japan. The Company’s plant, also located in the Huwei Science Park, has the capability to produce solutions and powders for injection.
To improve the quality of drug production, prevent cross-contamination and ensure the safety of operators and users, OP NanoPharma has equipped an integrated production system including cleaning, sterilization, isolation filling, lyophilization and external wash imported from first-tier manufacturers in Europe. To meet European and American regulatory requirements and integrated with global market, the Company is working hard to obtain PIC/S GMP certification from TFDA and US FDA.
