Cambrex plans to spend $30 million to expand small batch manufacturing capacity at its High Point, North Carolina, facility as the New Jersey-based CDMO continues the march in the U.S. to assure “onshore” production of key pharmaceuticals.
The company said its most recent expansion will focus on the small-molecule sector that provides drug substance, drug product and analytical services and will create 78 new jobs over the next three years.
“As a result of our High Point team’s commitment to providing our customers best-in-class technical expertise, innovative chemistry and engineering solutions, the facility has seen rapid growth in demand for our development and manufacturing services,” Cambrex CEO Thomas Loewald said in a statement.
RELATED: Cambrex looks to fill ‘onshore’ API manufacturing demand with $50M expansion in Iowa
Late last year, Cambrex pledged $50 million to build four active pharmaceutical ingredient facilities at its Charles City, Iowa, small-molecule manufacturing site, which would expand capacity by 30%. Those additions were expected to be ready to operate by early 2022.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, alarms began to ring, particularly among lawmakers, of the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain’s heavy reliance on APIs and drug intermediates manufactured mostly in China and India. The concern has been further conflated by political tensions between Washington and China.
As a result, more than $1 billion in federal funding as well as a wave of investments by the pharmaceutical industry has been directed into U.S. manufacturing capabilities and capacity to achieve supply side security.