Piramal Pharma Solutions expands, upgrades UK facilities

Mumbai: Piramal Pharma Limited's Pharma Solutions business, a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), has announced the expansion of its Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC) capabilities at the Grangemouth facility in Scotland and the investment in new Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) infrastructure at the Morpeth facility in England.

Together, these expansions and upgrades represent a total investment of approximately £55 million in the company's UK-based drug development and manufacturing capabilities as well as new employment opportunities for technical and operational staff.

In the first phase of the Grangemouth site expansion, two new ADC manufacturing suites, operational by Q3 2023, will be added to the existing three. The building has been designed to accommodate further expansion, with planned future phases that include a new sterile fill/finish suite dedicated to ADCs and two additional large-scale manufacturing suites capable of handling increased batch sizes. A new customer experience center is also being constructed for clients who are visiting the site during development and/or manufacturing activities. 

When complete, the expansion will enhance PPS' standing significantly by increasing ADC capacity at the Grangemouth site. The new facility will be fully supported by analytical laboratories (Quality Control, Cell-based Assay and Enzyme-Linked Immune Sorbent Assay [ELISA], Good Manufacturing Practice [GMP]), warehousing, and administrative offices, all housed in a purpose-built facility.

PPS's Grangemouth facility boasts two significant ADC capabilities: fit-for-purpose rapid development for early clinical materials and robust, scalable late phase development to support pivotal trials and commercial launch. By combining these skills with offerings from other thirteen global facilities, including fill/finish, payloads, and peptides, the company can provide integrated ADC services to customers looking for fast, simplified solutions.

Peter DeYoung, Chief Executive Officer, Piramal Pharma Solutions said, "We are delighted to announce the capacity expansion of our Grangemouth facility in the UK. This new development will more than double our ADC production capacity, strengthening our ability to service customers throughout the entire drug lifecycle. The primary driver behind this investment is the demand for commercial ADCs, coupled with a strong pipeline for clinical materials. This growth is a validation of Piramal Pharma Solutions' strong focus on Patient Centricity, its proven track record of service delivery, and the strategic initiatives and deep customer relationships."

This expansion represents an investment of 45 million pounds sterling, including a grant of £2.4 million from Scottish Enterprise, Scotland's national economic development agency.

Adrian Gillespie, Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise, commented, "Piramal's investment is tremendous news for Scotland's life sciences sector, one of the largest life sciences clusters in Europe, and is creating new, high-quality jobs that are crucial to our economic recovery. With Scottish Enterprise support, the company's Grangemouth site expansion proposals will deliver more R&D and production capacity for the development, scale up and commercial manufacture of drugs in the global fight against cancer."

The Grangemouth expansion, which is also client co-funded, is designed to facilitate the continued evolution of the business through the commercialization of customer products.The new facility is being built on a 5-acre brownfield plot less than 100 meters from the existing site and is designed to meet the highest standards of global compliance. 

Scottish Government Investment Minister Ivan McKee added, "This will be an important new development which could aid the treatment of life-threatening cancer, with Scottish Enterprise funding supporting the creation of 40 new jobs and safeguarding 170 more in Grangemouth." "We are working with agencies like Scottish Enterprise to deliver support for manufacturing across Scotland. Investments like this are helping us build a strong industry which will boost our economic recovery and deliver future prosperity."

The investment in API capabilities at the Morpeth site, which is valued at approximately £10 million, includes new equipment, infrastructure, and utility systems. It is intended to meet increased market demand from global API customers. PPS is investing £8 million directly, while the UK government is contributing £2 million to the project.

Mr. DeYoung concluded, "PPS is firmly committed to keeping pace with the market through expansions and investments, but we are working hard to do so with a focus on sustainable and environmentally-responsible practices. As we enhance our capabilities at sites in North America and India, similar plans are in place."

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