Catalent, Inc. is investing $200 million in its Biologics business to expand drug substance manufacturing capacity and drug product fill/finish capacity.  The three-year program will expand the company’s biologics manufacturing sites in Madison, WI and Bloomington, IN.  This follows a recent announcement to invest $14 million in packaging capabilities at the Bloomington site.
 
Mammalian cell culture capacity will be increased at Madison with the build out of two new suites, each with a 2 x 2,000 liter single-use bioreactor system, providing additional clinical and commercial production capacity at the 2,000 or 4,000-liter batch scale.  Work is expected to be completed by mid-2021 and will more than double Catalent’s commercial biomanufacturing capacity. 
 
Additionally, fill/finish capacity at the Bloomington site will be expanded by 79,000 sq. ft., with both GMP and non-GMP capabilities.  A high-speed flexible vial line, utilizing both ready-to-use (RTU) components and bulk filling, at a filling speed of 300 units per minute, will be installed along with a high-speed flexible syringe/cartridge line with a filling speed of over 300 units per minute, and a fully automated vial inspection machine.
 
“The expansions at both sites will support our customers’ development programs and commercial launches,” said Barry Littlejohns, president, Catalent Biologics and Specialty Drug Delivery. “Catalent’s continued investments in innovative technologies and flexible capacity allow us to offer the most comprehensive solutions to bring important and innovative treatments to market faster.”
 
Opened in April 2013 and recently expanded, Catalent Biologics’ Madison facility specializes in development, manufacturing and analytical services for new biological entities and biosimilars.  It houses the company’s GPEx cell line development technology, used to create high-yielding mammalian cell lines. The Madison facility was designed for cGMP production from 10 to 4,000-liter scale.