PCI Pharma Invests More Than $365 Million in New and Existing Facilities in US and EU

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PCI Pharma Services, a Philadelphia-based contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), announced in a press release on Sept. 24, 2024 that it was investing in excess of $365 million in a number of new or existing facilities, including its Biotech Center of Excellence in Philadelphia, a campus in Rockford, Ill., and a new acquisition and groundbreaking, both in Dublin, Ireland (1).

The Rockford campus is being designated as a new Center of Excellence, focusing on advanced drug delivery and drug-device combination assembly and packaging (1). PCI said the expansion would be 545,000 square feet in total, broken down in this manner:

• 345,000 sq. ft. for advanced drug delivery injectable packaging
• 130,000 sq. ft. of additional warehousing for products across all phases of development
• 70,000 sq. ft., also for advanced drug delivery in addition to patient-centric drug-device combination assembly and packaging.

The additional warehouse space will accommodate more than 20 customer suites, with scalable technology for both clinical- and commercial-scale final assembly and packaging of materials such as vials, prefilled syringes, and autoinjectors (1). These additions, which PCI said were implemented in response to customer demand, will be brought online in two phases, hoping to become fully operational by the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025).

In Ireland, PCI’s acquisition of a built-for-purpose pharmaceutical packaging and device assembly facility near Dublin will enable large-scale temperature-controlled storage capabilities and commercial-scale packaging and assembly operations for injectables as well as oral solid dose drug projects, all scheduled to commence operations sometime in the upcoming fourth quarter of 2024 (1). A second location, the CityNorth Dublin campus, has just had ground broken for a new packaging and device assembly services facility which, like the Rockford campus, is expected to begin operations in Q3 2025, according to PCI.

“The new and expanded facilities and infrastructure showcase our commitment to meeting evolving market and customer needs for clinical-to-commercial drug-device final assembly and packaging and furthers PCI’s overarching purpose of enabling life-changing therapies and patient convenience,” said Salim Haffar, CEO of PCI Pharma Services, in the press release.

PCI previously announced on Aug. 21, 2024 that its Bedford, NH, campus recently successfully completed the multi-agency inspection process of the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA), making PCI the first drug CDMO to navigate that particular facet of ICMRA’s new Collaborative Hybrid Inspection Pilot program, according to the company in a press release (2).

At its Philadelphia location, PCI said it recently invested “heavily” in complex automated advanced drug delivery technologies to enhance the facility’s capacity and capabilities (1).

References

1. PCI Pharma Services. PCI Pharma Services Invests Over $365 Million in EU, US Facilities for Clinical and Commercial Supply of Advanced Drug Delivery and Drug-Device Combination Products. Press Release. Sept. 24, 2024.
2. PCI Pharma Services. PCI Pharma Services’ Bedford, New Hampshire Location Successfully Completes International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities Inspection. Press Release. Aug. 21, 2024.