Animal medicine firm takes £20m hit after inspection fail

Norbrook, a Newry-based animal medicines firm, made a £20m loss last year after part of the factory had to shut down for two months.

The shutdown followed a failed regulatory inspection by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The US is Norbrook's biggest market so it is audited by the FDA as well as UK regulators.

The company, which had an annual turnover of £200m last year, has emphasised that no substandard or harmful products got onto the market.

The problem related to the company's aseptic manufacturing suites.

These are areas which are set up to produce products in a contamination-free environment.

In April 2025, the FDA inspectors made a negative audit finding, leading a "stop sale".

The aseptic areas were then upgraded and staff were retrained.

The company owners, the Haughey family, injected £10m into the business to help it through the shutdown period.

Norbrook also sold one of its feline medicine products to Virbac, a French company, for £100m.

Norbrook will continue to manufacture the product under licence.

Norbrook's Executive Chairman, Liam Nagle, said 2025 had been "a very challenging year."

"Our operational issues resulted in an inability to meet the strong demand in the market," he said.

"As a result, management has implemented a range of robust actions to remedy these issues, and the board is confident that these measures will deliver improved performance in the second half of the 2026 financial year and into the future."

Nagle told the BBC that the company's products had not been hit by Trump tariffs as the generic drugs they make are tariff exempt.