Micro-Sphere, a Swiss CDMO, said it plans to invest $22 million to expand its facility for spray drying and capsule filling near Lugano, Ticino, along the Swiss-Italian border.
The investment came in response to increased demand for dry powder inhalers and will allow Micro-Sphere to increase its capacity to produce more pharmaceutical powders and finished dosage forms, the company said in an e-mail.
The expansion, which will triple the size of the production area at the facility, is expected to be completed and operational by the end of the year.
“Both GMP spray drying as a particle engineering technique and low dose capsule filling are becoming increasingly popular across the market and at present there are very few CDMOs offering this level of capability, especially with our level of niche expertise,” Dr. Michele Müller, Micro-Sphere founder and president of the Board of Directors, said in a statement.
The plant, which is SwissMedic and FDA approved, serves customers in the U.S., Europe, New Zealand and Asia with spray-drying capabilities for the development and manufacture of both potent and non-potent pharmaceutical products, with a particular focus on inhalable dosage forms.