Global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Piramal Pharma Solutions recently announced an $80 million investment plan to expand its production facility in Lexington, Kentucky. The site specializes in sterile compounding, liquid fillings, and lyophilization for sterile injectable drug products.
"This expansion represents a strategic investment in the future of Piramal Pharma Ltd,” said Nandini Piramal, chairperson of Piramal. “Filling the commercial manufacturing gap enables the Lexington site to access the rapidly expanding injectables market and establish itself as a key player in the segment.”
The Lexington site serves a vital role in Piramal’s ADCelerate ADC development and manufacturing program. “ADCelerate is an integrated program, with Lexington as a core cog in the machine,” Peter DeYoung, CEO of Piramal Global Pharma, told BioProcess Insider. “This expansion means Piramal Pharma can scale ADCelerate program all the way up to commercial.”
He added, “The site is already a leader in sterile fill–finish for clinical development, so providing additional commercial capabilities is the logical choice.”
DeYoung said the site has received cooperation from the state of Kentucky and its regional government offices, while also being near a robust talent pool. “The Central Kentucky and Bluegrass region is a great place to live and work and this area is growing in the life sciences and pharma realm.”
“The decision by Piramal Pharma Solutions' leadership to expand and reinvest here is a testament to their trust and belief in what this great state has to offer,” said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
The expansion will enable the company’s capacity to grow from its current production capability of 104 annual batches to 240 when the expansion is completed in Q1 of 2027.
The 24,000 square-foot expansion includes manufacturing space, a new laboratory, and machinery to be used to scale products. Piramal is adding a new filling line, two commercial-size lyophilizers, a capping machine, and a vial washer. “This expansion offers increased redundancy for several key pieces of equipment and utilities, and it also offers increased options and flexibility in scheduling, planning, and execution,” DeYoung said.
DeYoung told us that since both the COVID-19 pandemic and the growth of GLP-1 products, the need for production sites that can develop and manufacture injectable medicines has been on the rise. “As a result, all injectable CDMO sites are experiencing demand,” he said. “Even if a company does not compete in those spaces, there is a trickle-down effect. Overall, the injectable market is growing at almost twice the rate of the overall CDMO market. The Piramal Lexington team has continued to see high interest in their filling capability and the market trends expect this to continue.”
“Our expansion positions us to meet the demands of a large and evolving biologics pipeline, as well as the increasing need for complex therapies and the faster approval processes for sterile injectables compared to other drug types.”
You May Also Like
