A NEW specialist factory near Glasgow will produce chemicals for drugs to fight cancer at home and fever in Africa.

The new £14million facility at Inchinnan in Renfrewshire will manufacture essential products for vaccines for influenza and for Dengue fever.

A total of 30 new jobs have been created at Thermo fisher Scientific which has expanded its operation where around 600 staff are employed.

The Cell Culture Media raw materials is also used in anti cancer therapeutic drugs and will be used in drugs used in Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America.

The firm operates in a growing market its Dengue Fever products are used to tackle a problem affecting two million people a year.

The workforce at the plant formerly Life Technologies, was a key reason for locating the new facility in Scotland.

Mark Smedley, President of Life Sciences Solutions, for Thermo Fisher, said: “It’s important to choose the right location for a factory of this significance, and we felt the depth of experience, skills and expertise at Inchinnan made it the perfect place to make this investment.”

The products are usually in liquid form but the dry cell technology offers savings in manufacturing, transportation and storage costs for the drug companies.

The company has expansion plans and has designed the facility with this in mind with removable walls to allow new equipment to be installed quickly to increase production

Mr Smedley added: “This is a strategically important facility that will secure supplies for our target markets all over the world.”

The launch is seen as putting Scotland further at the heart of the life sciences industry.

Paul Lewis, Managing Director, Scottish Enterprise International Operations, said: "Congratulations to Thermo Fisher on the opening of their impressive new facility at Inchinnan.

"Scotland is already home to a thriving life sciences cluster which is recognised worldwide as one of the most accessible, well-connected and collaborative in Europe.

“ It is major investments like this that allow us to continue to attract ambitious, international companies such as Thermo Fisher to not only locate in Scotland but to strengthen their business base here and to invest in long-term growth."

The company is part of a global enterprise with operations in 50 countries employing more than 50,000 people.