PCI forks out $365m, expands US and Ireland operations

The contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) is adding drug delivery technology to its headquarters, while it has broken ground at its 545,000 square-foot Rockford, Illinois site.

Moreover, the firm has acquired a packaging and device assembly plant near Dublin, Ireland and has broken ground on another site at its CityNorth Dublin campus. The investment focuses on both clinical- and commercial-scale packaging and delivery services, with a focus on injectables.

“The Philadelphia facility includes fully automated and precision handling equipment for prefilled syringes, syringe assembly and labeling, vial labeling and cartoning, and autoinjector assembly,” a spokesperson for PCI told BioProcess Insider.

“Our second center in Rockford, Illinois will use the blueprint from the flagship site in Philadelphia to replicate and provide the additional capacity required to support customer demand. Our focus on drug-device combination therapy final assembly and packaging will continue, with the EU operations following [along with] further plans. All investments start with the customers and what they need, and our strategy was built on this premise.”

The Rockford facility will be dedicated to advanced drug delivery and drug-device combination assembly and packaging. The phased expansion will include a 345,000 square-foot space for advanced drug-delivery injectable packaging and 130,000 square-feet of warehouse space.

Additionally, the site has over 20 customer suites. The remaining 70,000 square-foot space will focus on advanced drug delivery and patient-centric drug-device combination assembly and packaging. The plant is expected to become operational in two phases, beginning in mid-2025.

Meanwhile, PCI’s plant near Dublin will provide large-scale temperature-controlled storage capabilities and is expected to open later this year. The site will facilitate commercial-scale packaging and assembly operations for injectables and oral solid dose (OSD) drug products. Moreover, the CityNorth plant, which will begin operation in late 2025, will focus on injectables, autoinjectors, and cold-chain packaging.

“The expansions in Ireland mirror the existing centers delivered by PCI in North America. By replicating the exact service, we can provide the same full life-cycle management for our Europe-based customers,” the spokesperson added.

“Standard and advanced prefilled syringes and autoinjectors are where we are currently seeing the highest demand. Mitigation of risk by not having to move product from one facility to another is perhaps number one, but it also ensures that all intellectual property (IP) and product knowledge exist at a single facility. This ensures that communication is seamless, and the product is managed consistently and correctly.”

In 2022, the firm invested $100 million at its Bedford, New Hampshire campus to include a 50,000 square-foot facility, enabling the CDMO to expand its service offerings in biologics packaging and manufacturing.