CHINA – Asymchem Laboratories Co., Ltd., a leading CDMO serving the global pharmaceutical and biotech industries, has announced the completion of its Dunhua and Tianjin manufacturing sites in China.

To meet the demands of upcoming commercialization projects, the expansion will add nearly 500 cubic meters of batch capacity.

In addition, an API building expansion at the company’s Tianjin site was completed, with an expected new batch capacity of 160 cubic meters.

Asymchem has accelerated the construction of several small-molecule R&D and production facilities across the country.

This includes updating several existing modules and buildings, as well as installing continuous-flow equipment in new facilities.

According to the company, the growth has been fueled by increased commercialization demand. By the end of the year, Asymchem intends to double its existing small-molecule batch capacity to 1,700 cubic meters.

Furthermore, Asymchem says it intends to expand the use of continuous flow technology across all of its sites.

Asymchem paid US$57.9 million in February to acquire Snapdragon Chemistry, a company based in the United States that specializes in continuous manufacturing and early-stage chemical process development services.

The transaction was part of the CDMO’s plans to expand its presence in the United States.

Snapdragon, a spinoff from MIT and Boston University, announced a 51,000-square-foot plant expansion in 2021.

Sterling Pharma Solutions, a CDMO of small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates based in Dudley, UK, is investing £1 million (US$1.3 million) in an expansion project at its Deeside, UK bioconjugation and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) facility.

The project will increase the current laboratory space from 275 to 419 square meters and reconfigure the layout to allow for future development and expansion.

This investment supports the expansion of the company’s ADC capabilities since it acquired the 6,500 square-meter site in April 2021, as well as the facility’s scientific and analytical teams and the establishment of cGMP bioconjugation/ADC manufacturing capabilities.

The work and expansion will enable the hiring of up to five more scientists.

The company is currently integrating the site’s quality management systems in accordance with its global practices and is currently commissioning the quality control and manufacturing facilities in preparation for GMP certification, which the company expects to be in place by late 2022.

Sterling acquired ADC Biotechnology, which included the Deeside facility. Sterling recently announced two new investments in its global network: a £1.5-million (US$1.95-million) expansion project at its early-stage development site in Cary, North Carolina.

It also announced a planned £10-million (US$13-million) investment in process development and commercial-scale manufacturing capacity at its headquarters in Dudley, UK.

Furthermore, Sterling announced a deal in March 2022 to acquire Novartis’ 110-acre Ringaskiddy API manufacturing campus, with the transaction expected to close by the end of 2022.

At the same time, Novasep, a CDMO of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and antibody drug conjugates based in Lyon, France, and PharmaZell, a CDMO of small-molecule APIs based in Raubling, Germany, have completed a merger.

The companies had begun exclusive negotiations in September 2021 to establish a CDMO and API manufacturer.

The combined company has a presence in Europe, the United States, and India, with combined revenues of nearly € 500 million (US$545 million) and more than 2,000 employees spread across 10 production and research and development sites: seven in Europe, two in India, and one in the United States.

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