Almac celebrates 50 years in Craigavon

Now with 5,000 employees globally, the firm has hubs in 17 locations across Europe, North America and Asia.

Orginally known as Galen Limited in 1968, it was floated on the New York, Dublin and London stock exchanges in 1997 as Galen Holdings Plc and became Northern Ireland’s first billion pound company.

When the company took a different path to that which Sir Allen had envisioned in 2001, he sold the majority of his shareholding and, in 2002, he founded the Almac Group.

Sixteen years later the campus at Craigavon serves as the organisation’s global headquarters, housing seven business units. This year saw the recruitment of Almac’s 5000th employee globally.

Alan Armstrong, CEO and Chairman of the Almac Group said: “When he opened the doors of his business 50 years ago in Northern Ireland, Sir Allen had a vision of making a substantial contribution to healthcare across the globe.

“We are proud of our global reputation for excellence built over those 50 years.

“Our client service, scientific and operational expertise right across the drug development lifecycle offers a tailored solution to each of our clients.

“It is the dedication of our exceptional employees that enables us to provide this service and we pay tribute to their work as we reflect on the success of our company.

“We are excited about the future of our company.

“We look forward to making more exciting announcements as we reach new milestones and advancements across the business. As we look forward to continuing success, we wish to thank all those who have played their part in our story so far. So to our employees, clients, suppliers and other key stakeholders, thank you.”

The company’s most recently published financial figures show a 19% rise in revenue to £531m. It also reported an increase in pre-tax profits, up from £27m in 2016 to over £33m for the year ending 30 September 2017