Evonik is carrying out substantial investments to enhance contract manufacturing capacity at its Lafayette-Tippecanoe, Indiana, site. In the next five years, the company is expected to spend US$100 million on upgrading key equipment, which will include 100 m³ reactors as well as other key systems, so as to improve dependability, allow for higher levels of automation and boost user comfort and efficiency. The investment in contract manufacturing capacity is supported by the local government and will allow Evonik to fulfil the fast-growing need for U.S.-based drug substance CDMO services.
According to the head of the healthcare business line at Evonik, Guido Skudlarek, “Strengthening our U.S. drug substance business is a strategic necessity. With demand surging, Tippecanoe plays a pivotal role in creating a more resilient and globally balanced asset footprint.”
Evonik is managing its international asset footprint throughout North America and Europe as well as Asia, with a strategic emphasis on North America when it comes to its Drug Substance CDMO business. The Tippecanoe site of Evonik is an essential part of the global CDMO network of the company for small molecule drug substances. Upgrades to the Tippecanoe facility are indeed an investment in the next generation of technologies, which will help maintain technology leadership and enhance energy-efficient procedures. The decision to invest in smart preservation CAPEX is a growth driver for the long haul in accordance with the rigorous CAPEX guiding principles of Evonik, bolstering cost leadership while minimising greenhouse gas emissions.
Geopolitical ambiguities have emphasised the value of Western-based production of critical drug substances along with delivery technologies. And advanced therapeutic targets call for ever more complicated molecules, which are more challenging to manufacture. Evonik already facilitates complex synthesis, yet with increasing molecular complexity, this demands investment to uphold and enhance such capabilities.
As per the head of the Drug Substance product line at Evonik Health Care, Daniel Fricker, “API complexity continues to rise, and this investment empowers us to work with our customers on even more challenging molecules for critical indications such as cancer, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.”
The Tippecanoe site from Evonik is one of the largest API facilities in the world and the second-largest U.S. site from Evonik. The facility accommodates the largest HPAPI operation in the industry with 170 m3 of exclusive capacity and high-tech containment systems – OEL down to 0.1 μg/m3. The site also has 860 m³ of reactor capacity when it comes to general APIs and 2,500 m³ for large-scale fermentation as well as a technology inventory of 10 advanced platforms. Tippecanoe, which has been acquired from Eli Lilly in 2010, has evolved into a multi-customer CDMO that specialises in intricate drug substance projects.