Last news analysis
CDMO Investments in Europe and the US
(Feb-Apr 2025)
In early 2025, major contract manufacturers announced large capital expenditures to boost capacity - especially in high-demand areas like biologics (e.g. peptides, viral vectors) and high-potency small molecules - and opened new state-of-the-art facilities.
Europe
On March 11, 2025, Almac Group (UK) opened a new 100,000 sq. ft. commercial manufacturing facility at its Craigavon headquarters in Northern Ireland. The £65 million investment expands Almac's capacity for oral solid dose drug production, including potent and highly potent therapies. This Centre of Excellence has been designed with flexibility and a wide range of uses in mind and includes opportunities for partner companies to install custom and / or dedicated technology tailored to their individual and emerging pipeline needs.
This £65 million investment by Almac Pharma Services in Craigavon marks a significant milestone in Almac Group's ongoing global expansion programme. Almac Group initially committed to £250 million in capital investment and a growth of 1,800 new jobs across the Group globally in 2022. Since then, the Group has increased its projected investment figure to over £400 million.
In an announcement on March 5, 2025, CordenPharma unveiled a record investment exceeding €500 million to build a new greenfield peptide manufacturing facility in Muttenz, Switzerland (Basel region). This investment will feature multiple manufacturing lines capable of supporting small, medium, and large-scale peptide production with small- to large-scale Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis (SPPS) reactors for GLP-1 and non-GLP-1 peptide projects - with a total SPPS reactor capacity of more than 5,000 L. The new state-of-the-art facility will feature advanced automation, cutting-edge digitalization, and innovative peptide production technologies, ensuring compliance with the most stringent regulations, including BLA requirements. With the main construction and qualification phase taking place between 2025 and 2027 and start of commercial activities to begin in the first half of 2028, the company is proud to generate over 300 new jobs, contributing to economic growth and innovation of the region.
In parallel, CordenPharma announced expansion of its Boulder, Colorado (USA) site, adding new production lines to more than double peptide output capacity there as well.
These investments (part of a > €1 billion program) aim to cement CordenPharma's leadership in integrated peptide API supply for booming areas like diabetes and obesity treatments, and to meet growing global demand with facilities in both Europe and the US
Aenova is investing around €20 million to expand and modernize its Bad Aibling site in Germany. This facility serves as a competence center within the Aenova network for blister and third-party packaging, as well as high-volume production of effervescent products. A new blister packaging line was launched in February 2025, increasing the site's total capacity to 220 million blisters per year.
In addition, a new strip packaging line for effervescent products was commissioned earlier this year. The site now operates two strip lines and one tube line, enabling the production and packaging of over 420 million effervescent tablets annually. These enhancements significantly boost production efficiency and flexibility.
BSP continues to invest and expand to Latina Plant, In the fourth quarter 2024, the Board of Directors of BSP has revised the Mid/Long-Term Strategic Plan (2025-2030), which guides the cycle of investments of the company; such investments have been adjusted and increased since the last DCAT announcement in 2024. The total amount of the investment for the period 2025-2030 is now estimated to be approx 600 million Euro.
Type of manufacturing involved are:
Large molecules DS & DP (both ADC and Liposomes) for cyto manufacturing, small-large molecules non-cyto manufacturing, peptides formulations and fill-finishing, solid-dosage manufacturing, parenteral-drug manufacturing. BSP's DP sterile filling lines can produce both liquids and lyo vials.
The investment would involve manufacturing of liquid vials manufacturing for biologicals and small innovative molecules for Immuno-oncology and Immunotherapy, bulk drug substance manufacturing of ADC, as well as some novel chemical entities, including by way of exemplification RNA based onco-vaccines, new bioconjugates and next generation polypeptide medical treatments or peptides including GLP-1 inhibitors.
In March 2025, Oncomed had officially launched the third production line, which focuses on the manufacturing of pre-filled syringes for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and Crohn's disease. This technology is the first of its kind in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and within two years, the company will be capable of meeting global demand for this type of injectable medication.
The annual capacity of the new line exceeds 100 million units and meets the highest pharmaceutical standards. Key features include a continuous filling system that enables high-speed production, automatic optical inspection, and sterile manufacturing within an isolator environment.
Large-volume syringes present new opportunities for expanding outpatient and home care. In situations where hospitalization was previously required-often due to the need for intravenous infusions-these can now be replaced by slow subcutaneous injections administered in clinics or at home using autoinjectors. This not only enhances patient comfort but also reduces costs for the healthcare system.
March 31 - 2025, HAS Healthcare Advanced Synthesis SA announced the planned acquisition of Cerbios-Pharma SA, a globally recognised manufacturer of chemical and biological APIs, including in the fast-growing area of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). Both companies are based in Switzerland and sell globally.
The combination of HAS and Cerbios creates a highly complementary and integrated leader in CDMO industry. Together, the two companies bring extensive production, chemical and biological expertise, technical excellence, and a broader range of services to meet the evolving needs of the global pharmaceutical industry.
United States
In March 2025 (around the DCAT Week event), LGM Pharma announced an investment of over $6 million to expand its manufacturing facility in Rosenberg, Texas. This expansion (Phase I of the company's CDMO growth plan) will increase capacity for liquid, suspension, semi-solid, and suppository drug products, addressing rising demand for these dosage forms from U.S. pharma clients. LGM is upgrading infrastructure and quality systems so the Texas site can support more prescription drug production (including topicals and suppositories) at cGMP standard.
Alongside its Swiss project, CordenPharmais expanding its Boulder Colorado facility to boost peptide API output. The ongoing U.S. expansion includes new large-scale Solid Phase Peptide Synthesis lines and even a greenfield production area, which will more than double peptide reactor capacity (adding 25,000 L, for >42,000 L total) by 2028.
This is part of CordenPharma's >€1 billion global investment program announced in March 2025, aimed at supporting the surging demand for peptide therapeutics. The Colorado site, once expanded, will work in tandem with the new Swiss plant to ensure ample capacity for peptide drug supply in both North America and Europe.
In March, Delpharm has reached an agreement with the Government of Canada to modernize its injectable manufacturing facility in Boucherville. This announcement ensures that Delpharm will maintain its Boucherville site within Canada, thereby securing the local supply chain for sterile injectable medicines. The Boucherville plant currently produces 20 of the 100 critical medicines vital to the Canadian healthcare system, making it a key player in supplying essential generic products for surgery and intensive care nationwide.
The signing of a 10-year agreement between Delpharm and Sandoz establishes a foundation for ensuring a stable and reliable supply of critical medicines for Canadians, thereby enhancing the country's healthcare autonomy amid global supply chain disruptions. This modernization plan represents a total investment exceeding 200 million Canadian dollar and will preserve over 500 highly skilled jobs in Quebec. Scheduled to run until 2031, the plan includes expanding the site, installing a new state-of-the-art filling line, and upgrading existing equipment to comply with new Health Canada standards. Ultimately, 95% of the equipment will be replaced.
April 2, 2025, Landmark Bio announced it has been acquired by Artis BioSolutions, a newly launched company dedicated to streamlining the discovery, process development, and manufacturing of genetic medicines. The acquisition enables Landmark Bio to continue to deliver on its mission of translating groundbreaking research into life-changing therapies, while scaling its capabilities to accelerate development and manufacturing of advanced therapies.
As part of Artis, Landmark Bio will continue to operate as a distinct entity, providing critical services in translational research, process development, and manufacturing for clinical and commercial cell and gene therapy products. The acquisition by Artis supported by initial funding from Oak HC/FT, marks a significant step toward expanding access to high-quality development and manufacturing capabilities across the advanced therapy ecosystem. Landmark Bio will remain headquartered in Watertown, MA, and continue to operate its state-of-the-art facility and teams in place.
This move instantly positions Artis BioSolutions as a "premiere CDMO for advanced therapy developers", offering end-to-end capabilities in the fast-growing but under-served cell and gene therapy sector.
In February 4, 2025, Jabil Inc. announced the successful acquisition of Pharmaceutics International, Inc. , CDMO specializing in early stage, clinical, and commercial volume aseptic filling, lyophilization, and oral solid dose manufacturing.
Jabil is a leader in parenteral drug delivery, in support of markets like GLP-1s. This acquisition will significantly enhance Jabil's existing Pharmaceutical Solutions offering, which includes the development and commercial production of auto-injectors, pen injectors, inhalers, and on-body pumps. With the addition of Pii's leading scientific insights, depth of product knowledge, and capabilities across aseptic filling, lyophilization, and oral solid dose manufacturing, Jabil can meet the clinical and commercial drug manufacturing demands of healthcare customers.
Founded in 1994, Pii's footprint has grown to over 360,000 square feet across four sites on a single campus in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Pii's state-of-the-art Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facilities contain over 70 manufacturing rooms, including containment suites for handling high potency compounds and hormones, dedicated manufacturing suites for oral products (e.g., soft gels), an aseptic facility for injectables (e.g., vials, syringes, and cartridges), a formulation development center, and analytical and microbiology laboratories. This expertise will add a comprehensive portfolio of pharmaceutical development and manufacturing services to Jabil's current healthcare solutions.
Asia
In April, AGC Biologics announced a strategic decision about the large-scale single-use technology it will use at its new Yokohama, Japan facility. The CDMO is introducing two 5,000 L Thermo Scientific DynaDrive Single-Use Bioreactors (S.U.B.), which makes the site one of the most advanced in Japan for large-scale mammalian-based biologics production, with GMP operations beginning in 2027.
According to 2024 data from BDO Group's bioTRAK Database, single-use technology represents 51 percent of all mammalian bioreactor technology globally, outpacing the traditional stainless-steel alternative. Attributes driving this trend include fewer cleaning requirements, lower cost barrier to entry and timeline for setup, flexible configurations, scalability to meet changing product demands, and shorter clinical production timelines. AGC Biologics has the second largest global network of single-use manufacturing capacity by volume in the industry, according to bioTRAK. The new bioreactor technology ensures the company stays ahead of industry-wide demand for single-use systems.
The new AGC Biologics Yokohama facility will offer support from initial process development work for early-phase projects to late-phase and commercial production. It will support mammalian expression, cell therapy, and messenger RNA (mRNA) drug products.