Watson to expand Salt Lake City R&D, manufacturing facility PBR Staff Writer

Watson Pharmaceuticals is set to expand Watson Laboratories' R&D and manufacturing facility in Salt Lake City, Utah with $44m investment.Watson's Salt Lake City facility, which manufactures and packages branded and generic transdermal patch and topical gel pharmaceutical products, currently employs more than 200 people.As part of the expansion, the company plans to upgrade approximately 20,000sqft of its existing space and construct 17,000sqft for future manufacturing space.With this expansion, the company aims to triple the annual manufacturing batch capacity to support the expansion of transdermal and topical gel products into select international markets.Watson president and CEO Paul Bisaro said this expansion not only supports their near-term product manufacturing and packaging needs, but also help them to more efficiently meet anticipated futAure consumer demand for products that are currently in various stages of development."We are investing in the creation of skilled manufacturing, packaging and quality control/quality assurance and other jobs that will create opportunities for the population of Salt Lake City and the surrounding areas," Bisaro said.