Evonik has announced plans to invest €35 million to expand its contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) capabilities in North America for controlled-release injectable formulations. The expansion of Evonik’s US and Canadian facilities includes the installation of a new filling line, production facilities and analytical labs.

Evonik recently expanded Evonik Birmingham Laboratories, a global center of excellence for biomaterials and polymer-based injectable dosage forms in Birmingham, Alabama. Evonik installed an automated, custom-designed filling line for complex injectable products. The line will support the liquid, lyophilized, or powder-filling of drugs in vial sizes of up to 50 mL to be used in clinical or commercial applications.

Evonik is also constructing a new 2,900-square-meter building at its Birmingham site to expand the global production capacity of its proprietary Resomer portfolio of bioresorbable polymers. The new building is scheduled to be commissioned later this year (2018).

Evonik is also upgrading an existing facility and adding a second adjacent building that will more than double the total size of Evonik Vancouver Laboratories to 4,300 square meters. Evonik acquired the Vancouver site through its 2016 acquisition of Transferra Nanosciences, a CDMO specializing in developing lipid nanoparticle-based parenteral drugs. The investments, which include the upgrade of GMP manufacturing facilities and the expansion of laboratories and scale-up services, will support new and existing customer programs.