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Supplier News: Axplora, BASF, BioSpring, Pace & More 

The latest from CDMOs, CMOs, and suppliers featuring BASF, BioSpring, Pace Life Sciences, Aenova, Future Pak, Nippon Shokubai, Azelis/Chimica e Farmaceutica, IMCD, and Axplora.  

Chemicals/Chemical API Manufacturing 
* Axplora Announces $41-M Expansion of Mfg Facility   
* BASF Opens GMP Ingredients Center in US 
* Nippon Shokubai To Expand Nucleic-Acid Drug API Mfg
* Azelis Acquires Chimica e Farmaceutica 
Biologics Manufacturing 
* BioSpring Building New DNA/RNA-Based API Plant   
Formulation Development/Drug Product Manufacturing 
* Pace Life Sciences Opens Fill-Finish Center of Excellence 
* Aenova Launches New Hot-Melt Extrusion Platform; Expands Cold-Chain Capabilities  
* IMCD Opens Life Sciences Lab in China 
Packaging 
* Future Pak To Acquire Theratechnologies for $254 M   

Chemicals/Chemical API Manufacturing 

Axplora Announces $41-M Expansion of Mfg Facility   
Axplora, a CDMO of small-molecule active pharmaceuticals ingredients (APIs), intermediates, and antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), and a provider of industrial chromatography services, has announced a EUR-35 million ($41-million) expansion at its Farmabios site in Gropello Cairoli, Italy. Farmabios specializes in steroids and high-potency compounds.  

This investment builds on the EUR 45 million ($53 million) already committed over the past five years, bringing Axplora’s total recent investment in Farmabios to over EUR 80 million ($94 million). The addition of 62,000 square meters of new development space in 2026 will more than double the total footprint of the site to 108,000 square meters. This will be more than ten times its original size. 

Source: Axplora 

BASF Opens GMP Ingredients Center in US 
BASF has opened a new GMP Solution Center in Wyandotte, Michigan. The facility includes cleanroom packaging and high-sensitivity analytical testing. Additionally, improved manufacturing capabilities will allow for more tightly controlled parameters beyond compendial limits and a validated control system that allows for high reproductivity. 

Source: BASF 

Nippon Shokubai To Expand Nucleic-Acid Drug API Mfg 
Nippon Shokubai, an Osaka-based CDMO, has announced a tenfold expansion of its manufacturing capacity for nucleic-acid drug active pharmaceutical ingredients. The capacity expansion will involve the installation of a large-scale production line with ten times the capacity (several kilograms per batch) of its existing line. The new facility is scheduled to begin operation in 2027.  

Source: Nippon Shokubai 

Azelis Acquires Chimica e Farmaceutica 
Azelis, a Berchem, Belgian-based chemical supplier, has acquired 100% of the shares of Azienda Chimica e Farmaceutica (ACEF), a Piacenza, Italy-based distributor of specialty raw materials and ingredients. ACEF operates three laboratories for technical support and quality contro as well as GMP-compliant facilities for pharmaceutical ingredients. Its subsidiary, Arda Natura, specializes in plant extracts and other natural products.  

Source: Azelis 

Biologics Manufacturing 

BioSpring Building New DNA/RNA-Based API Plant   
BioSpring, a Frankfurt am Main, Germany-based CDMO, has announced it is building a new production facility for DNA- and RNA-based active pharmaceutical ingredients.  

The new building complex will include three interconnected structures: a manufacturing and warehouse facility, an office area for quality control and production teams, and a glass atrium designed for events. An external solvent tank farm will also be built. Production will be conducted under GMP conditions. In total, the complex will offer over 15,200 square meters (approx. 164,000 square feet) of gross floor area and will employ around 200 people. In the long term. BioSpring aims to create additional jobs at the Innovation Campus in Offenbach. The investment amounts to several hundred million euros, with completion planned for the end of 2027.  

Source: BioSpring 

Formulation Development/Drug Product Manufacturing 

Pace Life Sciences Opens Fill-Finish Center of Excellence 
Pace Life Sciences, a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based CDMO, has announced a remodeling and expansion of its Salem, New Hampshire, site to establish a Center of Excellence for aseptic fill–finish processing. A grand opening ceremony and open house will be held on July 16, 2025.    

The expansion of the Salem facility includes the addition of an isolated vial filling line designed to facilitate smaller batch size manufacturing with high sterility assurance and EU Annex 1 compliance.  

Source: Pace Life Sciences 

Aenova Launches New Hot-Melt Extrusion Platform; Expands Cold-Chain Capabilities 
Aenova, a CDMO of drug products, has announced the launch of a new hot-melt extrusion platform and an expansion of its cold-chain capabilities. 

The new hot-melt extrusion platform, which Aenova has now introduced at its site in Regensburg, Germany, is a twin-screw extrusion platform, which is ready to be used in producing amorphous solid dispersions for APIs up to OEB 5. 

Additionally, Aenova is investing in a cold-chain warehouse at its sterile site in Latina, Italy. Construction began earlier this year (2025), with full operational readiness and regulatory acceptance expected by the first quarter of 2026. 
 
Spanning approximately 6,500 cubic meters, the warehouse offers a total capacity of 1,300 pallet spaces, with an additional area accommodating around 100 pallet spaces dedicated to packing, shipping, and final product preparation. The facility is designed to maintain a controlled temperature range of 2–8°C, which is continuously monitored and recorded via a SCADA system (supervisory control and data acquisition) for GMP compliance.  

Source: Aenova (extrusion platform) and Aenova (cold chain)

IMCD Opens Life Sciences Lab in China 
IMCD Group, a provider of specialty chemicals and ingredients, has opened a newly reorganized and expanded Life Science Laboratory hub in Shanghai, China.  

The hub brings together three laboratories across the pharmaceutical, food, and beauty industry to increase cross-industry exchanges. The pharmaceutical lab is focused on the wider North Asia region and provides capabilities such as reverse-engineering, troubleshooting, formulation development, and comparative analysis. It supports various dosage forms including solid, liquid, and semi-solid preparations, and offers both internal and external technical training. Specialized services include rheological measurements of colloidal suspensions and detailed chemical analysis. 
 
Source: IMCD Group 

Packaging 

Future Pak To Acquire Theratechnologies for $254 M   
Future Pak, a privately held contract manufacturer, packager, and distributor of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products, has agreed to acquire Theratechnologies, a Montreal, Canada-based commercial-stage bio/pharmaceutical company, for $254 million. 

Theratechnologies has two approved therapies in the US for the treatment of HIV. Trogarzo (ibalizumab-uiyk) injection is approved for use in the treatment of HIV-1 infection in heavily treatment-experienced adults with multidrug resistant HIV-1 infection failing their current antiretroviral regimen. Egrifta SV/ Egrifta WR (tesamorelin for injection) is approved for the reduction of excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected adult patients with lipodystrophy. 

Under the agreement, Future Pak will acquire all the issued and outstanding common shares of the company for $3.01 per share in cash plus one contingent value right (CVR) per share, which will entitle the holder thereof to additional aggregate cash payments of up to $1.19 per CVR, if the following company milestones are achieved, subject to a maximum aggregate payment of $65 million to all holders of CVRs. 

Source: Theratechnologies