After pledging earlier this year to bolster its drug substance capabilities in Central Europe, German chemical company Evonik is turning its attention to the U.S.
The company is laying out $100 million to soup up its existing production plant in Lafayette, Indiana. Known as the Tippecanoe Labs site, Evonik described the campus as “home to one of the world’s largest facilities for the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API).”
The site further represents the “industry’s biggest high-potency API operation” and serves as the “bedrock” of Evonik’s global CDMO network for small molecule drug substance, the company said in a July 8 release.
Evonik will run through the investment over a span of five years, during which it plans to modernize key production equipment like “large reactors and other critical systems.” This, the company figures, will improve the reliability of its services, pave the way for improved automation and beef up “ergonomics and efficiency.”
Evonik noted Wednesday that the expansion will help it meet fast-growing demand for U.S.-based drug-substance CDMO services.
Since early 2025, the second Trump administration has leveraged the threat of pharmaceutical import tariffs to wrangle domestic investments from drugmakers, resulting in a spate of highly publicized outlays from Big Pharmas and midsized drugmakers alike.
In some instances, non-U.S.-based companies like argenx appear to be tapping into local contract manufacturing capacity from outfits like Fujifilm Biotechnologies to tie up domestic sourcing for their meds.
"Strengthening our U.S. drug substance business is a strategic necessity," Guido Skudlarek, head of Evonik’s healthcare business, said in a statement Wednesday. "With demand surging, Tippecanoe plays a pivotal role in creating a more resilient and globally balanced asset footprint."
Although Evonik’s business covers North America, Europe and Asia, the company said that it has placed a “particular emphasis on North America for its drug substance CDMO business.”
Evonik also pointed to geopolitical uncertainty as a reason to invest in regional manufacturing for drug substances and drug delivery technologies.
The company got its hands on the Tippecanoe Labs site—its second-largest in North America—from Eli Lilly in 2010. The site currently employs more than 650 people, not including contractors in various roles.
The company did not point to any hirings in connection with the investment, with Evonik’s Tippecanoe Labs site manager, Todd Wetli, suggesting instead that the project will “help secure these jobs” and “contribute to the local economy.”
Across the pond, Evonik in April announced an 80-million-euro ($93.5 million) upgrade to the fermentation technology at its European facility in Slovenská Ľupča, Slovakia.
As with the U.S. investment, the Slovakia project has also been pegged to enhance Evonik’s drug substance CDMO services. The expansion is slated to add 50 new jobs once complete.