A PHARMACEUTICAL company is to relocate from Wirral to North Wales in a £2.7m investment in a new headquarters and manufacturing facility.

Quay Pharmaceuticals says operations at the new site on Deeside Industrial Park will include early stage research and development and clinical trials manufacturing for the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

The company’s site at Bromborough had reached capacity and the firm is expanding and moving operations to a new facility over the border in Wales four times the size of its current premises in a move supported by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) that will also safeguard 30 jobs.

Quay Pharma was established in 2001 by Prof Mike Rubinstein, a former director of the School of Pharmacy and Chemistry at Liverpool John Moores University. He said the range of support offered by WAG to small and medium-sized businesses had made Wales an attractive proposition for Quay Pharma’s expansion.

He said: “The support from the Assembly Government is great for a small company and of particular help in the current economic climate.

“Not only does it provide advice and access to knowledge but also provides businesses with a high level of promotional and marketing support at overseas events.”

The company is currently fitting out laboratories and offices at its new base with the aim of opening in January. The manufacturing operation is due to relocate during the first quarter of next year.