MONTREAL — Pharmascience Inc. will invest a total of $55.7 million by the end of 2016 to modernize its R&D facilities and increase production capacity at its Montreal manufacturing facility.

The investment is being supported by contributions of $4 million from Investissement Québec and $800,000 from Emploi Québec, which the company says will be used to pursue a diversification strategy based on the development of new products and an increased international profile.

Of the $55.7 million, $8.2 million will go towards the modernization of the company’s R&D facilities. The additional $47.5 million will support new production, packaging and quality management technologies.

The project is expected to create up to 65 new jobs.

Pharmascience, founded in 1983, is a Canadian-owned retail generic pharmaceutical manufacturer with a workforce of 1,623 employees.