The US CDMO giant said the project will add two new analytical development laboratories to support the growing demands of assay development for both traditional biologic and advanced biologic modality programs.

The first of the two new facilities is due to be completed by the end of October 2022, with the second expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2023.

The company said the expansion will create some 50 new scientific jobs at the Missouri site by February 202, noting that the additional capacity will increase capabilities across its network in both standalone services and integrated development programs.

Catalent recently expanded its CMC large molecule analytical services at Kansas City to include additional services in excipient and media components support, extractable and leachables testing, droplet digital PCR technologies (ddPCR) and next-generation sequencing (NGS).

“The need for timely analytical support in development, characterization and CGMP testing is critical for innovators across the biologics pipeline, with delays affecting the overall time to get new drugs into the clinic and ultimately to patients,” said Jeremie Trochu, division head for BioAnalytics.

Specifically, Trochu said the expansion will allow Catalent to support the increased demand and assay requirements for broad-based and orthogonal analytical CMC services in both traditional biotherapeutics and advanced modalities such as antibody-drug conjugates, cell and gene therapies and mRNA vaccines.

In April 2022, Catalent announced the completion of an expansion project to increase capacity at the site, adding capabilities for producing encapsulated oral solid dose forms.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist