Symbiosis Pharmaceutical Services has shelled out £1.2 million ($1.57 million) to acquire a new manufacturing building at Castle Business Park in Stirling, Scotland, boosting the local CMO’s production capacity by half.
The addition of the new 20,000-square-feet of space doubles the company's total footprint across the four facilities it will operate from, adds 50% more production capacity "in the short term" and is expected to create 50 new jobs. The expansion forms part of Symbiosis’ plans to offer accelerated delivery of sterile injectable products, the company said.
The project includes plans for a pair of new cleanroom-based production lines that will support biotechnology and pharmaceutical production. The expansion is expected to be completed in the next three years.
Once the expansion is wrapped, Symbiosis' footprint will amount to 43,500 square feet.
The new building is situated near Symbiosis' existing manufacturing cleanrooms, testing labs and warehouses, the company added. The site will also offer further flexibility to accommodate a "range of bespoke client pharmaceutical manufacturing processes," Symbiosis said.
“This step-change in operational capacity positions the company for sustained growth and to bring continued added value to both clients and shareholders alike,” Colin MacKay, chief executive of Symbiosis, said. “It also represents the latest strategic initiative for Symbiosis following on from the addition of laboratories and the launch of in-house Quality Control (QC) microbiological and analytical testing services last year.”
Barclays Corporate Bank provided the financing for the expansion.
The expansion by Symbiosis is part of a growing trend among CDMO’s to boost production of new personalized biotech drugs.
Earlier this week, Afton Scientific announced plans to spend $200 million to expand its sterile and aseptic filling manufacturing plant in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Other companies like Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Exela Pharma Sciences, Johnson & Johnson, Piramal Pharma Solutions, SK pharmteco and Eli Lilly have all recently announced big production expansions focused on making drugs like small molecules and peptides.
Symbiosis, for its part, specializes in aseptic fill and finish, analytical testing, qualified product release, inspection, labeling, packaging and temperature-controlled storage and shipment of medicines.