Esteve CDMO, the contract development and manufacturing organization within Spanish specialty pharma Esteve, is overhauling its China operations in the service of its global ambitions.
The CDMO just announced an $80 million investment to relocate, modernize and expand its Chinese manufacturing footprint. The new site in Shaoxing will include three new workshops and reserve 150 m³ reactor volume for future development, allowing potential total volume to reach more than 400 m³. Esteve said the new facilities will significantly increase the company’s capabilities in Asia.
“This investment is an important step in the sustained growth of Esteve CDMO and our global manufacturing platform,” Joan Petit, president of Esteve CDMO, said in an Oct. 21 statement. “Strengthening our presence in China allows us to bring our capabilities closer to customers in Asia while leveraging the expertise of our global network.”
The China expansion is part of Esteve’s pivot toward a global development and manufacturing presence.
In 2025, the CDMO established an American flagship location at its Morton Grove, Illinois, facility, gleaned from its acquisition of Regis Technology. Esteve didn’t disclose the initial deal price, but it has since publicly invested an additional $33 million to upgrade the facility which offers services ranging from early-stage R&D to active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing.
Esteve's recent expansion spree reflects a larger transformation underway in the CDMO sector. As cell therapies, precision medicines and other advanced treatments demand more specialized manufacturing expertise, contract manufacturers are racing to become full-service development partners. CDMOs are rapidly adding locations, expanding technical capabilities and pursuing new technologies.
Catalent just signed on as a partner to Ori Biotech, giving it access to the next-gen automated cell-therapy platform tech, Iro. This summer, Swiss-based Lonza announced plans to increase its capacity to produce components of antibody drug conjugates (ADC) and ultimately offer a start-to-finish ADC service. And Belgium's Ardena has positioned itself as a one-stop-shop CDMO for biotechs developing precision medicines.
For its part, Esteve said in a statement that building an integrated global network of manufacturing sites has allowed the company to support “the increasingly complex requirements of small-molecule API development and manufacturing for customers across China, Asia and international markets.”