Member Article

Drugs firm expands into UK from Teesside office

Macleods Pharmaceuticals Ltd, which has over 10,000 employees worldwide, has opened its first UK office on Teesside.

The company has appointed Drew Rowley as its sole employee in the UK and he has set about growing business from Wynyard Park House at 700-acre Wynyard Park.

The Indian company - named after a text book used by its founder while studying for a pharmacy degree - manufactures a range of generic pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, TB treatments, blood pressure drugs and pain killers, for sale in countries around the world.

UK Sales and Marketing Director Drew, 38, a Teesside University English graduate from Marton, Milddlesbrough, joined the Mumbai-based family business in 2013 after being head-hunted via Linkedin, the social networking website for business professionals.

His current employers offered him a job after spotting that he had previously worked for key industry player AAH Pharmaceuticals Ltd as well as another Indian-based manufacturer of generic drugs.

Drew is now in the process of establishing a sales and distribution hub that sees products shipped to the UK, stored in a warehouse in Doncaster and then distributed to a range of other European countries once they have satisfied UK testing regulations.

It was Drew’s decision to base Macleods Pharmaceuticals’ UK sales operation at Wynyard Park, explaining: “I was allowed to choose where to set up a base and given that I have lived on Teesside all my life I was keen to do something that would benefit the local area.

“Although I did look at premises in different places, including Leeds and Sunderland, I knew that Wynyard Park was where I wanted to be as soon as I visited the site. It is very classy and certainly creates the right impression. The site also has great transport links with its close proximity to the A19, A1, local railway stations and airports.”

Macleods Pharmaceuticals has enjoyed rapid growth in recent years, experiencing an average growth rate of over 22% for the past five years.

Drew added: “There is certainly potential for the business to continue growing and we will be looking to expand in the UK, creating vital new employment for local people.”

Claire Tallon, Facilities and Estate Manager at Wynyard Park, said: “We are delighted to welcome such a key player in the global pharmaceuticals trade, and we look forward to working closely with Drew to help him make the company’s UK operation a big success.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Steve Hilton .