The investment will expand ongoing efforts to modernize equipment and increase production capacity, the French-German CDMO said.

As an initial project, a new multipurpose API pilot plant is to be completed by the second quarter of 2023.

The test unit will focus on “innovative and highly active products” to meet the growing demand for APIs, particularly the highly potent drugs (HPAPIs) used to treat cancer. It will be equipped to produce batches ranging from 30 to 100 kg for clinical trials, process validation and commercial production of APIs for the targeted therapies.

Also part of the investment is an upgrade of two existing 2,000‐liter reactors to optimize their versatility and functionality, along with the addition of a new 1,500‐liter reactor and Hastelloy filter‐drive, Novasep-PharmaZell said.

"This major project to modernize and expand the Mourenx site is a clear and practical answer for our pharmaceutical customers, who face growing challenges to secure supply chains in the field of healthcare products and particularly APIs,” said Jean Bléhaut, president of the CDMO business unit.

Bléhaut added that it also “demonstrates our new group's determination to pursue the strategy of industrial investments that we have been successfully deploying for several years.”

France’s Novasep, based at Lyon, and Germany’s PharmaZell, based at Räubling, completed their merger on Apr. 7 this year. The combined group has sales revenue of nearly €500 million and employs more than 2,000 people across 10 production and R&D sites, including seven in Europe, two in India and one in the US.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist