Capsugel to expand pharma product development and manufacturing in Edinburgh

Published: 23-Jul-2015

Will bring a broader range of technologies closer to its European customers

Capsugel, a US-headquartered supplier of dosage forms and solutions, is to expand its facility in Edinburgh, Scotland, to meet increasing demand for its specialised pharmaceutical product development and commercial manufacturing services.

The Edinburgh facility, acquired as part of the purchase of Encap Drug Delivery in March 2013, is among the largest in the world for the manufacture of liquid- and semi-solid-filled hard capsule pharmaceutical products.

Capsugel will more than double the size of the facility by adding 40,000ft2 (around 3,800m2) of space, which will enable Capsugel’s Dosage Form Solutions business unit to increase its liquid- and semi-solid-fill hard capsule manufacturing capacity for drug products containing high-potency active pharmaceutical ingredients (HPAPIs) and further diversify the technologies offered at the plant.

The company says that over the past two years, the Edinburgh facility has experienced approximately 40% growth in its development services business, while also establishing a strong commercial manufacturing pipeline – including eight late-stage projects currently in progress.

Capsugel will more than double the size of the facility

The first phase of the expansion will include new analytical, formulation and quality laboratories to address bioavailability, HPAPI and other formulation challenges. The second phase, which is scheduled to begin later this year, will significantly expand commercial manufacturing capacity for the site’s existing technologies and bring the company’s other formulation and development technologies, including spray dried dispersion (SDD), to this location. Similar to Capsugel’s SDD centre of excellence at its facility in Bend, Oregon, US, the company’s SDD offering in Europe will eventually include development through to commercial-scale capabilities.

Capsugel's President of Dosage Form Solutions, Amit Patel, said: 'This investment furthers our strategy of taking the specific science and engineering know-how available at our individual locations and making it more accessible to customers throughout our global network.'

Stephen Brown, Managing Director of Encap Drug Delivery, added: 'Our Edinburgh operations have been a key contributor to the growth of Capsugel’s Dosage Form Solutions business, and our increased capacity and technical capabilities will enable us to create additional value for customers.

'This expansion will further strengthen our ability to collaborate on the design, development and manufacture of high-quality, specialised dosage forms for lipid/liquid-fill solutions and high-potency products, while also broadening our technology toolkit into other areas.'

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