Malta company to produce COVID-19 treatment in new Hal Far facility

MGC Pharma is set to benefit from a new production facility in Ħal Far, where the company will produce over 20,000 units of liquid dose medicines, including its flagship COVID-19 treatment CimetrA. 

The facility was opened and inaugurated on Tuesday in the presence of Enterprise Minister Miriam Dalli and Consumer Affairs Parliamentary Secretary Deo Debattista. 

Malta Enterprise handed the company a €3.1 million cash grant to fund the construction costs of the new facility. 

Apart from increased production capacity, the new facility will create 12 to 20 new jobs for the industry. 

The company’s Malta facility will produce CimetrA, a novel pharma product with anti-inflammatory properties. It has been used to alleviate COVID-19 symptoms in patients suffering from the virus but can also be designed for multiple therapeutic applications. 

Enterprise Minister Miriam Dalli

At the launch, Nativ Segev, the founder and director of MGC Pharmaceuticals, said that the company worked closely with its partner Biopharmax to ensure that the facility was built on time and in line with the Malta Enterprise stipulations. 

Meanwhile, Deo Debattista praised the Malta Medicines Authority for working closely with academic and pharmaceutical entities to spur economic growth while meeting medicinal needs.

This investment results from a Malta Enterprise scheme designed to provide financial support for investment projects that increase or initiate the production of products related to COVID-19. 

MGC Pharma’s new investment is the result of this scheme.

With the second plant facility also focusing on medicinal cannabis, Dalli said that government wants to see Malta become a research centre for this type of treatment.

“I want to reiterate our support not only to MGC Pharma but to all investors who believe in such products,” she said.