Cambrex, a contract manufacturer of small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), is investing $3.2 million to expand its facility in High Point, North Carolina with the addition of an 11,000-square foot-analytical laboratory.

Installation of equipment, including high-performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometers, and support equipment, will commence in the third quarter of 2017, with validation and start-up anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2017.

As a result of the expansion, Cambrex plans to add 12 new analytical development scientists to its research and development team. The laboratory is designed to broaden analytical support for customer projects at the High Point site and is part of a strategic plan to support Cambrex’s global analytical development and method validation needs.

Cambrex acquired the 35,000-square-feet High Point site, formerly part of PharmaCore, in October 2016. At the North Carolina facility, Cambrex produces APIs and intermediates requiring multi-step synthetic processes in batch sizes from milligrams to 100 kg to support clinical trials from Phase I to Phase III. The site is licensed with the US Drug Enforcement Administration to manufacture Schedule II to Schedule V controlled substances.

This latest expansion at the facility brings the investment at the site to more than $5 million since the acquisition of the facility by Cambrex and follows the announcement in May 2017 of an increase in pilot-scale manufacturing capacity at the site.

Source: Cambrex