Cambrex, an East Rutherford, New Jersey-based contract manufacturer of small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), plans to expand research and development (R&D) capabilities at its site in Paullo, Milan, Italy.

The company is investing to construct a new 150-square-meter R&D laboratory and recruit additional scientists to increase the number of generic APIs in the company’s development portfolio.

The new laboratory will include 14 fume hoods and will combine both chemistry and analytical development capabilities, with the installation of glass-lined reactors, as well as analytical instruments, including multiple high- and ultra-performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography systems. It is estimated building work will be completed by the end of 2018, which Cambrex says will allow installation and validation of the analytical instruments to take place in the first quarter of 2019.

Cambrex currently manufactures over 70 generic APIs, which are produced to cGMP standards and the Milan site comprises seven production departments, supported by a pilot plant, kilo-scale plant, and development and analytical laboratories.

Source: Cambrex