The latest from CDMOs, CMOs, and suppliers featuring Recipharm, Ashland, VectorBuilder, West Pharmaceutical Services, Ardena, Dow, Univar Solutions and Veranova.  

Biologics Manufacturing 
* VectorBuilder Investing $50 Million in Genetic Medicine Mfg and R&D Center 
Formulation Development/Drug Product Manufacturing 
* Recipharm Adds New Blow–Fill–Seal Line 
* Ashland Invests in Tablet Coating Mfg Facility
Appointments 
* West Pharmaceutical Services Appoints New President & CEO
* Ardena Appoints New Chief Scientific Officer 
* Veranova Appoints New Site Manager 
General 
* Dow, Univar in Low-Carbon Products Distribution Pact 

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Biologics Manufacturing 

VectorBuilder Investing $50 Million in Genetic Medicine Mfg and R&D Center 
VectorBuilder, a Chicago, Illinois-based CDMO focused on gene-delivery technologies, has announced plans to invest $50 million to establish a new advanced biomanufacturing and R&D center in Chicago. 

The center is designed to support a full range of gene-delivery capabilities, including plasmids, recombinant viral and nonviral vectors, and genetically engineered cells. The new center will combine research and development with manufacturing capabilities across VectorBuilder’s gene-delivery portfolio. Planned as a multi-phase project, the facility is expected to begin initial operations in 2027, with further expansion aligned to customer demand and program scale. 

Source: VectorBuilder 

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Formulation Development/Drug Product Manufacturing 

Recipharm Adds New Blow-Fill-Seal Line 
Recipharm has announced a multi-million investment in a new blow–fill–seal manufacturing line to expand capacity to support programs from development through commercial supply for ophthalmic products. 

Source: Recipharm 

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Ashland Invests in Tablet Coating Mfg Facility 
Ashland, a producer of specialty excipients, has announced the groundbreaking of a film-coatings manufacturing facility, located in Ambernath, Maharashtra, India. The new site, which will manufacture the company’s proprietary aquarius tablet coatings, is the company’s first tablet-coatings manufacturing facility in South Asia and represents the company’s largest anufacturing commitment in India to date. Once operational, the facility will supply pharmaceutical and nutraceutical customers across India and the broader Asia-Pacific region. 

Source: Ashland 

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Appointments 

West Pharmaceutical Services Appoints New President & CEO 
West Pharmaceutical Services has appointed Michel Lagarde, currently Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Thermo Fisher Scientific, to be President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and a member of the company’s Board of Directors starting August 31, 2026. He succeeds Eric M. Green, who will retire from his roles as President, CEO, and Board Chair on that date.  

Most recently, Lagarde served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Thermo Fisher Scientific, with responsibility for the majority of the company’s businesses. He joined Thermo Fisher in 2017 as Senior Vice President and President, Pharma Services, through its acquisition of Patheon N.V.  Lagarde was President and Chief Operating Officer at Patheon from 2016 to 2017, and Managing Director at JLL Partners, a private equity firm focused on healthcare services, from 2008 to 2016. Earlier in his career, he spent 12 years at Philips, a health technology company, in a range of finance roles across several international markets. 

Source: West Pharmaceutical Services 

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Ardena Appoints New Chief Scientific Officer 
Ardena, a Ghent, Belgium-based CDMO of drug substances and drug products, has announced the appointment of Ariane de Ganck, PhD, currently Chief Commercial Officer at Ardena, as Chief Scientific Officer. Since joining Ardena in 2019, she has overseen the company’s drug-product operations, led the successful acquisition and integration of the Ardena Pamplona site, and supported the expansion of Ardena’s development capabilities into aseptic fill–finish services. 

Source: Ardena 

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Veranova Appoints New Site Manager 
Veranova, a CDMO of small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates, has announced the appointment of Dr. Bob Huang as Vice President and General Manager for its West Deptford, New Jersey, facility.  

Before joining Veranova, Huang spent most of his career at Sanofi, where he held roles of increasing responsibility across CMC development, licensing, collaboration, and API contract manufacturing. Most recently, he led global external manufacturing networks to help drive business growth while improving supply reliability, compliance, and cost performance. 

Source: Veranova 

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General 

Dow, Univar in Low-Carbon Products Distribution Pact 
Dow and Univar Solutions, a provider of specialty ingredients and chemicals, have announced a long-term agreement to offer and distribute Dow’s Decarbia low-carbon products with product carbon footprint certificates across key markets, including pharmaceutical, beauty and personal care, home care, food, and a variety of industrial performance markets.  

Source: Dow