Axplora to Consolidate UDCA Manufacturing at Vizag, India Site by End of 2026

Editor’s Take: Creating a fully integrated production platform allows a company to align with evolving customer needs.

Axplora is strategically consolidating ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) manufacturing at its Vizag, India site, part of the company’s PharmaZell business unit.

Transitioning from the Gropello Cairoli, Italy site in the Farmabios business unit, consolidation should finish by the end of 2026. Axplora previously announced a €6.5 million (US$7.51 million) investment to expand UDCA manufacturing capacity in Vizag in August 2025.

UDCA Defined

UDCA, an API derived from bile acid, sees wide usage in therapies to treat chronic liver and gallbladder diseases. Axplora says global UDCA demand is growing—mostly driven by increased diagnoses and treatment of chronic liver conditions.

Therefore, one effect of the Vizag investment is creating a fully integrated production platform, from bile sourcing to API manufacturing. At this site, manufacturing takes Axplora’s proprietary, enzymatic green chemistry synthesis route. This reduces process steps and minimizes solvent and reagent use compared with conventional approaches.

Vizag Already Important for Axplora

In that way, Vizag’s manufacturing standards are identical to Gropello’s; Vizag has already been awarded an EcoVadis Silver sustainability rating.

Axplora CEO Martin Meeson said the consolidation highlights the company’s ability to align investments with changing customer needs.

“This decision reflects the strategic advantage of Axplora’s integrated global network,” Meeson said. “By consolidating UDCA manufacturing at Vizag, we are creating a more streamlined and scalable supply platform that strengthens resilience.”

“Our Vizag site has become an increasingly important strategic hub,” Anant Barbadikar, President of PharmaZell—Operations, said. “This consolidation reflects the technical expertise, operational excellence, and regulatory track record of our Indian teams.”

Overall, Axplora operates nine API manufacturing sites across Europe and India. This provides multi-site capacity to the company’s partners around the globe.