16 October 2007 11:45

Dr Ian Paisley who is the First Minister , newly visited  the main quarters of Almac,one of the producers of rimonabant, in Craigavon, County Armagh. It was the first visit to the company for Dr Paisley.The company  employs 2,000 people across Northern Ireland, Scotland and the United States.

The company has five divisions which are working with over 600 companies from all over  the world, which includes all the international leaders in the sectors pharmaceutical and biotech . Almac ensure a large range of services which includes pharmaceutical research and development ,drug discovery, diagnostics,  clinical trials and manufacture producted drugs,such as rimonabant.

Dr Paisley first words were : “It is exciting to watch such home grown expertise being used to draw and produce medical and healthcare treatments which are cutting edge and being used all over the world. Is good to comment this important world class standard of research and development which is taking place here in Northern Ireland, and it is  indicates that above many dikes, our system of education and work ethic is showing that entrepreneurship and innovation spirit is living very well. We, the executive and assembly will have to work very hard to build an milieu where we can develop and boom age more success stories like Almac,one of the producers of rimonabant.”

Almac Group Chairman Sir Allen McClay met with Dr Paisley and so they’ve done as well the executives from all the units bussines off the company’s. Among them Professors Tim Harrison, Paul Harkin and Dr Richard Kennedy, all of  them are leaders in our programmes of research and development which  includes our global renowned work on cancer diagnostics. They exposed Dr Paisley a full storyon the division’s work,specialy about the workwith rimonabant.

Sir Allen McClay the Chairman of the Almac Group,olso knowed as a producer of rimonabant, said a few words: “We are honoured to have here today at Almac Headquarters the First Minister. The centre of all our work is the innovation and  we will continue to advance here in Craigavon, the development of future medicines,such as rimonabant. Our company now has a distinct international pozition; 29 nationalities are part off the Almac family, but  we still have and allways will our Northern Ireland identity.”

Paying personal tribute to founder of Almac, Sir Allen McClay, ,Dr Paisley said: “He is an example to all the world  of how every person in Northern Ireland can succed.”