EMBARGOED UNTIL 11.00am
THURSDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2007

Rt Hon Helen Clark
Prime Minister

PM: Speech at Opening of Facility

66 Weld Street
PALMERSTON NORTH

11.00 am
Thursday 22 February 2007

It is a pleasure to be here today to mark another milestone in New Zealand Pharmaceuticals’ history – the official opening of the new Specialty Products Facility, the company’s biggest ever single investment.

New Zealand Pharmaceuticals is well known as a manufacturer of biochemicals, and, as one of only three principal producers of cholic acid in the world.

Its customers include many leading global pharmaceutical and bio-pharmaceutical companies.

The new facility will add to New Zealand Pharmaceuticals’ reputation in the international pharmaceutical industry, as it will produce the carbohydrate compounds for a range of new drugs.

The success of New Zealand Pharmaceuticals is exciting for the government, as three of our agencies, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, the Foundation for Science, Research, and Development, and Industrial Research Ltd have played a part in the company’s journey.

New Zealand Pharmaceuticals was the first company designated by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise as a ‘Pathfinder’ company.

Such companies are identified as leaders in innovation with the potential to contribute even more to New Zealand’s growth and development. Being in the Pathfinder programme has resulted in a substantial grant to NZP from NZTE.

The $10 million investment we are celebrating today is certainly evidence of a company on the move, backed by world leading New Zealand research.

I thank Richard Garland for his generous acknowledgement of the role played in the company’s development by the world-renowned glycotherapeutic research team at Industrial Research Limited (IRL).

The team, led by Dr Richard Furneaux at IRL subsidiary Glycosyn, has developed carbohydrate compounds from molecules.

The close collaboration between the team and New Zealand Pharmaceuticals will see IRL transfer these carbohydrates to New Zealand Pharmaceuticals' new factory, where the production process can be developed and refined, and large volumes can be produced.

This shows that New Zealand biotechnology researchers do not always have to license their intellectual property to overseas manufacturers to reach the global market. It can be done right here in New Zealand with the right partnerships.

Richard has fully acknowledged the risk carried by the New Zealand taxpayer over many years in developing the science which underlies the company’s product development and expansion.

There has been a spurt of growth in the biotechnology sector of our economy following on from the Growth and Innovation Framework launched by the government in 2002.

The government identified biotechnology as having a critical role in taking the economy upmarket, whether that be through, for example, contributing to the pharmaceutical industry, to food and beverage technology, or to new initiatives for land-based production.

New Zealand has long had world leading bio-sciences, but we have traditionally not been good at commercialising our own innovations.

That’s why our government has expanded the state’s role from one of funding both pure and applied science, and technology development for business growth, to supporting venture capital and actively mentoring and supporting innovative companies to market.

We improved the tax treatment of R & D several years ago, and further improvements are under consideration in the current business tax review.

We are keen to see more collaboration between Crown Research Institutes and the private sector at earlier stages of research programmes with commercial potential, and we welcome the relationship which has developed between IRL and New Zealand Pharmaceuticals.

Late last year, Hon Steve Maharey convened the Capitalising on Research Summit. It brought together 250 business and science sector leaders, to discuss how science and business can better collaborate for mutual benefit.

That has set New Zealand on the path to improved collaboration and better application of research to improve business productivity and competitiveness.

Turning brilliant ideas from New Zealand science and research into profitable products is something our country can do better, and strengthening the bonds between science and business is vital for our economic transformation and our future prosperity.

One of the outcomes from the summit was the formation of the Commercialising Research and Development Action Group.

Chaired by Phil O’Reilly, Chief Executive of Business New Zealand, the Group is made up of representatives of the business, government, and science sectors.

They will look into issues which require hard thinking and determined action, such as how to improve access to overseas venture capital, provide businesses with better information on R S & T, and find ways to improve support for science clusters.

New Zealand Pharmaceuticals is already well along a road we hope many other New Zealand companies will travel. It has developed high value, innovative, niche products from world-class research. It is a “pathfinder” company which points the way to the future for others.

I congratulate New Zealand Pharmaceuticals on its success and have pleasure in declaring the Specialty Products Facility open.

Ends

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