Dive Brief:
- Dutch pharma contractor Patheon will invest $45 million to expand its development and manufacturing services at four sites across the U.S. and Italy, tapping into growing demand for contract services from pharma and biotechs.
- Patheon will add commercial spray-drying capabilities at a Florence, S.C., site it acquired from Roche last fall and will continue to invest in product manufacturing and packaging at two other facilities in Greenville, S.C., and Monza, Italy.
- In May, scientific instrument maker Thermo Fisher agreed to buy Patheon for $7.2 billion, snapping up the CDMO to capitalize on the expanding market opportunity in outsourced drug development and manufacturing.
Dive Insight:
When Thermo Fisher announced its deal to acquire Patheon, company CEO Marc Casper told analysts demand for contracting services had grown rapidly in recent years — feeding into the underlying trend on the part of large pharma towards outsourcing clinical production and commercial manufacturing.
"It's a very attractive $40 billion market that's growing in the mid-single to high-single digits," Thermo Fisher's Casper said at the time.
Patheon's current business is built on finished dose and API manufacturing as well as pharmaceutical development services (PDS). Revenues in the six months ending April 30 rose 7.6% over the same period in 2016, propelled by growth in its PDS and drug substance services divisions.
The $45 million investment will be directed to further developing two capabilities: commercial and development spray drying and flexible manufacturing services.
In Florence, Patheon says it will add a 15,000-square-foot suite dedicated spray drying, which should pair with similar capabilities at its Bend, Ore., facility. Spray drying is a process that helps increase the solubility of drug products.
The CDMO also plans to invest in a new commercial sterile product manufacturing plant and expand PDS capabilities at its Monza, Italy site. The Greenville facility will get an upgrade to its packaging line and a new 4,800-square-foot filling suite.