Derbyshire Healthcare Products Manufacturer Doubles Capacity : Healthcare products manufacturer Harlequin BPI has more than doubled its capacity after securing an investment of £400,000, creating a host of new jobs in the process.

The Derbyshire firm, based on the Manners Industrial Estate in Ilkeston was founded only four years ago and makes a series of products including nasal sprays, ear drops and eye drops.

The deal has seen the addition of a further 6,000 sq ft of space to its existing facility, which will allow the company to make an extra three million bottles each year.

Meanwhile, the organisation’s workforce has already risen from 12 to 17 this year, while plans are in place to soon take the number of staff up to 25.

Ian Hopkinson, Director at Harlequin BPI said that the company is now the leader in the UK for the production of a range of sterile and non-sterile healthcare products.

He commented that the firm is delighted to have a full order book for its range of products already in place for next year, adding that they are in partnership with a pharmaceutical organisation and are looking at the possibility of exporting their goods across the world in the next 12 months, which is why they have made the decision to expand the business at the present time.

The company’s new base was officially launched by entrepreneur Saira Khan, who came second on the first series of the apprentice, and Maggie Throup, MP for Erewash.

In the wake of the Brexit vote, it has been forecast that major pharmaceutical companies have survived mainly unscathed from the leave vote turmoil; however the life sciences industry faces an uncertain future in the UK.

It has been argued that politicians must tackle the issues of drug regulation and inward investment in the life sciences industry if Britain is to succeed in its bid to become the third biggest biotech cluster in the world.