Epichem to expand lab space by 50%

Epichem, a wholly owned subsidiary of Australian-listed PharmAust, has announced plans to expand its laboratory space and hood capacity by 50%.

This expansion will be part-funded by a $466K loan from the Export Finance Insurance Commission (Efic), to be repaid over four years. 

The company provides products and services in synthetic and medicinal chemistry to the drug discovery and pharmaceutical industries. Epichem’s managing director, Dr Wayne Best, said, “Our existing laboratories, which were expanded in 2015, are now running at full capacity. The new laboratories are needed to meet current and forecast demand.

“The time could not be better for a further expansion. The lower Australian dollar and the ongoing improvements to our quality accreditation levels are expected to continue driving significant revenue growth for the company and shareholder,” said Dr Best.  

Epichem registered revenue of $3.05m for the 2017 financial year, a 30% increase over the previous year, and is targeting $4m in revenues for the 2018 financial year.

The company's Drug Discovery Services arm recently benefited from a significant new customer based in the USA. Growth in Epichem’s Fine Chemicals & Technical Services business, which includes the company’s catalogue of pharmaceutical reference standards, was assisted by the company’s certification to the ISO9001 Quality Management System in 2016.