Eastern Creek site expected to become one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in the Southern Hemisphere
SYDNEY, 3 July 2026 – Vitex Pharmaceuticals, the Australian family-owned pharmaceutical manufacturer behind many of the country’s best-known brands, today officially opened Wonderland, its new $250 million manufacturing facility in Eastern Creek, Western Sydney – the most significant investment in Australian pharmaceutical manufacturing in more than two decades.
The facility was officially opened by [INSERT: The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister of Australia / The Hon Chris Minns MP, Premier of NSW] alongside Vitex Executive Chairman Dr Elie Chami and CEO Dr Aniss Chami, before an audience of industry leaders, clients and local representatives.
Operating alongside Vitex’s original 2017 site, Wonderland triples the company’s production footprint and will create 800 new high-skilled roles, taking its Western Sydney workforce to more than 1,200. Once fully operational, it is expected to be one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing sites in the Southern Hemisphere.
“Wonderland is the boldest commitment our family has ever made to Australian pharmaceutical manufacturing. We are creating 800 long-term careers in engineering, R&D, operations and quality assurance, in an industry the world trusts Australia to lead,” said Vitex CEO Dr Aniss Chami.
“As a contract manufacturer, Vitex is the unseen hand behind many of Australia’s most trusted brands. Our clients bring us an idea and we carry it all the way to the shelf. This facility triples our capacity to do that – onshore, by Australian workers, to the world’s most rigorous pharmaceutical standards.”
Official opening of the Wonderland site
“This stands as a testament to the ingenuity, intelligence and hard work that drives Australian industry – supporting high skilled, well-paid jobs. It’s an investment in Western Sydney, in our nation and in our capacity for dynamic manufacturing and growing trade – my Government will always back that,” said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
“Western Sydney is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, and it deserves the jobs, investment and industries that come with that growth. This investment means 800 new skilled jobs, more medicines made here in NSW, and another vote of confidence in Western Sydney’s future,” said NSW Premier Chris Minns.
Strengthening Australia’s sovereign capability
Australia’s complementary medicines sector is valued at more than $6.2 billion annually and supports nearly 16,000 jobs, including up to 6,800 in production. It is one of the few manufacturing industries to have remained largely onshore, playing a critical role in national supply resilience.
Vitex is one of the sector’s largest privately owned manufacturers, directly exporting Australian-made products to 26 countries including China, Vietnam, Thailand, New Zealand and South Korea. Wonderland brings the full spectrum of medicine manufacturing under one roof: complementary medicines alongside registered medicines, from over-the-counter (Schedule 2) and pharmacist-only (Schedule 3) products through to prescription (Schedule 4) medicines – a direct response to Australia’s medicine shortages.
“In 2023, 61 per cent of medicines supplied in Australia were imported, and by mid-2024 more than 400 medicines were in shortage – affecting treatments for cardiovascular disease, depression and hormone therapies. Wonderland is licensed to manufacture Schedule 4 medicines, which means Vitex now has the capability to help close critical gaps in domestic supply,” Dr Aniss Chami said.
A Western Sydney story, 37 years in the making
“I started Vitex in Western Sydney in 1989 with little more than a conviction that Australia could make medicines as well as anyone in the world. Today my children are opening one of the largest facilities of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, just kilometres from where we began,” said Vitex Founder and Executive Chairman Dr Elie Chami.
“Many brands chase lower-cost manufacturing offshore. We made the opposite decision early, because ‘Australian-made’ carries real weight. Australia’s standards are recognised globally as the gold standard, and that is exactly why products made in this building will be trusted by millions of consumers. Vitex is an Australian success story – but first and always, it is a Western Sydney story.” Dr Chami concluded.
Fast facts: Wonderland
• $250 million investment – the most significant in Australian pharmaceutical manufacturing in more than two decades
• 800 new high-skilled roles, taking Vitex’s Western Sydney workforce to more than 1,200
• Triples Vitex’s production footprint, operating alongside its original 2017 site
• Expected to become one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in the Southern Hemisphere
• TGA-licensed, including for the manufacture of Schedule 4 medicines
• Supplying brands exported to 26 countries, including China, Vietnam, Thailand, New Zealand and South Korea
About Vitex Pharmaceuticals
Vitex Pharmaceuticals is a leading Australian pharmaceutical manufacturer, trusted by the market’s leading household-name brands to take their products from concept to shelf. Founded in Western Sydney in 1989, Vitex remains family-owned and operated, today led by the second generation of the Chami family. From its best-in-class facilities in Sydney, Australia, Vitex formulates, manufactures and packages listed medicines, including tablets, soft gel capsules, two-piece hard gel capsules and powders. All Vitex facilities are licensed by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), whose manufacturing standards are among the most rigorous in the world. The opening of its new Wonderland facility in 2026 expands Vitex’s capability into new formats – including gummies, liquids, creams and probiotics – and beyond listed complementary medicines into the manufacture of registered medicines – spanning over-the-counter (Schedule 2), pharmacist-only (Schedule 3) and prescription (Schedule 4) products – strengthening domestic supply of essential healthcare products.
About Dr Elie Chami, Founder andExecutive Chairman
Dr Elie Chami is theFounder and Executive Chairman of Vitex Pharmaceuticals. Arriving in Sydneyfrom post-war Lebanon in the 1970s at the age of 16, he settled in WesternSydney and in 1989 founded Vitex with his eldest son Aniss, exportingAustralian-made complementary medicines to the Middle East and Arabian Gulf,before building the company into one of the nation’s largest pharmaceuticalcontract manufacturers. He led the company until 2016, when he handed the CEOrole to Aniss, and continues to guide its growth as Executive Chairman – withthe next generation of the Chami family now in the company’s executiveleadership. A committed philanthropist and mentor in the Western Sydneycommunity, Dr Chami’s contribution to Australian industry and the region wasrecognised with an honorary doctorate from Western Sydney University.
About Dr Aniss Chami, Chief Executive Officer
Dr Aniss Chami is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Vitex Pharmaceuticals, which he established with his father Elie in 1989 and has led as CEO since 2016. Under his leadership, Vitex has grown into one of Australia’s leading manufacturers of complementary medicines, culminating in the $250 million Wonderland facility. Dr Chami holds a Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours) from Macquarie University, a Master of Pharmacy from the University of Sydney, a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Notre Dame’s Sydney School of Medicine, and an MBA and Master of Financial Management from Macquarie Graduate School of Management. He was named Manufacturing Executive of the Year by The CEO Magazine in 2017 and 2018, and serves as a Board Director of both Consumer Health Products Australia (CHPA) and Complementary Medicines Australia (CMA) the peak industry bodies for the consumer healthcare sector. He is a leading national voice for Australian medicine manufacturing and sovereign capability.
