CEOs and senior executives from DCAT Member Companies highlighted their companies’ major news at the DCAT Member Company Announcement Forum at DCAT Week. Manufacturing expansions for peptides, biomanufacturing, and sterile manufacturing led the news. 

By Patricia Van Arnum, Editorial Director, DCAT, pvanarnum@dcat.org

CEO and senior executives from DCAT Member Companies highlighted their companies major news at the DCAT Member Company Announcement Forum at DCAT Week, the flagship event of the Drug, Chemical & Associated Technologies Association (DCAT). Companies reported the latest in expansion plans across the bio/pharmaceutical manufacturing value chain: from drug substances (small-molecules and biologics) to drug products (solid dosage and injectable product forms). In all, 20 companies took to the podium to make their announcements. The program kicked off DCAT Week on Monday March 17th, 2025.

Led by the success of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists, a number of companies reported expansions in peptide development and manufacturing, punctuated by CordenPharma’s more than $1-billion expansion plan. Other companies proceeding with peptide expansions, at various scales, included BioDuro, Neuland Laboratories, SK pharmteco, and Axplora (through an expansion on large-scale high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and continuous chromatography for API purification, including peptides).

Other companies are proceeding with expansions in fine-chemicals, small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), either general expansions or capabilities for specialized products, such as antibody drug conjugates or other conjugated products. These companies included SK pharmteco, BioDuro, Procos, Esteve, Lonza, and Lacamas Laboratories.

Multi-billion dollar expansions in biologics (drug substance) were also a highlight of the Member Company Announcement Forum with FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies and Lonza providing updates of their large-scale projects. Although not at the same scale, Thermo Fisher Scientific provided an update of its biomanufacturing expansions. For early-stage research, Bio X Cell, a producer of functional in vivo antibodies for translational research, highlighted its new distribution center in China. Also, Avantor outlined a large expansion in its hydration capabilities to support bioprocessing and other processes.   

On the drug-product side, Thermo Fisher Scientific provided details of its expansions in fill-finish and sterile manufacturing as did other companies, which reflected a truly global reach: Symbiotec Pharmalab (India), Boston Oncology (Saudi Arabia), RV Group (Vietnam), JGL (Croatia), and Upperton Pharma Solutions (UK). Also, Ursatec provided an update on its expansion strategy for the US market for its preservative-free drug-delivery systems.

One announcement that stood out for its uniqueness from a technology view was from the CMDO Bora Pharmaceuticals, which outlined how the company was using and plans to use artificial intelligence in its operations.

Details of each company’s announcement can be found below. 

• Lonza Investing in Large-Scale Biomanufacturing, Bioconjugation, Drug-Product Manufacturing
• CordenPharma Investing More Than $1-Bn to Expand Peptide Production Capacity
• Avantor Completes Multi-Year Expansion To Expand Global Hydration Capabilities
• FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies Advancing Multi-Billion Expansions in Biomanufacturing
• BioDuro Expanding Drug-Substance Mfg, Peptide Scale-Up Capabilities
• Thermo Fisher Highlights Expansions in Biomanufacturing, Sterile & Oral Solid Dose
• Axplora Adding New Facility for Purification of Peptides, Other APIs
• Esteve Targets Expansions in Spain and China
• Symbiotec Pharmalab Expands Manufacturing Capabilities with Dual Chamber Vial Facility and Biomanufacturing Hub
• Neuland Expands Global Peptide Production Capabilities – Investment of $30 Mn
• Boston Oncology Expanding Biomanufacturing Capacity in Saudi Arabia
• Procos Expanding Small-Molecule API Manufacturing
• Bio X Cell Expands to China
• JGL Investing $64 M To Expand Sterile Production Capabilities
• SK pharmteco Expanding Small-Molecule API & Peptide Manufacturing
• Upperton Pharma Solutions Expanding Sterile Manufacturing
• Lacamas Laboratories Acquires Former W.R. Grace’s Fine Chemicals Facility
• Ursatec, AeroPump Announce US Expansion for Preservative-Free Drug Delivery Systems
• RV Group Investing $20 M in Sterile Injectables Expansion in Vietnam
• Bora Pharmaceuticals Advancing AI in Operations