Indian CDMO Piramal Pharma Solutions is beefing up its global API production, including in the U.S., where it has expanded in recent years.
The company said on Tuesday that it would invest $55 million across its network. In addition to upgrades in manufacturing automation and IT across its entire network, specific projects include expanding its early development capabilities at a site in Morpeth, U.K., and its high-potency drug capabilities at its site in Riverview, Michigan.
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Piramal picked up the Michigan operation last year when it agreed to pay up to $53 million in cash and milestone payments for Riverview-based Ash Stevens. With that deal, it acquired 60,000 square feet of facilities, eight chemical drug development and production laboratories, and six full-scale production areas, including facilities for high-potency API manufacturing.
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In January 2015, Piramal agreed to pay $30.65 million to buy Coldstream Laboratories from the University of Kentucky to get its expertise in sterile injectable medications.
Indian companies have been aggressive buyers of small- to medium-sized U.S. operations in the last few years. Mumbai-based Lupin Pharmaceuticals bought two New Jersey generics companies last year for a total of almost $900 million. In 2015, Cipla paid $550 million for InvaGen Pharmaceuticals, a Hauppauge, New York-based generics maker, and its marketing operation, picking up a 350,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in the deal.