Cambrex has completed a $50 million expansion of its large-scale active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing capabilities at its Charles City, Iowa facility. The startup of the new manufacturing space is the culmination of a two-year project, originally announced in 2020, to increase the capacity of Cambrex’s flagship API facility by 30%. The expansion positions Cambrex with the largest and most advanced API facility in the U.S. and ensures the long-term capacity to support Cambrex’s existing customer base and future growth supported by robust market demand.

“The opening of our Charles City facility expansion is a significant milestone for Cambrex, solidifying our position as the leading U.S.-based provider of small molecule APIs,” said Thomas Loewald, CEO of Cambrex. “We continue to see strong demand for high quality, U.S.-based development, and manufacturing of new APIs, and we are excited to offer our existing and potential new customers access to the best-in-class capabilities of our Charles City facility.”

Following the expansion, Cambrex’s Charles City facility has approximately 400 employees and an installed reactor capacity of over 25,000 gallons (approximately 100 cubic meters). With multiple large-scale manufacturing areas, the facility is able to reduce production timelines by manufacturing multiple products with complex chemical syntheses in parallel. The facility is located on a 45-acre property and produces a wide range of APIs and pharmaceutical intermediates, including highly potent molecules and controlled substances.

In addition to its expansion in Iowa, Cambrex continues to invest in additional small- and mid-scale API manufacturing capacity at its Karlskoga, Sweden, and High Point, North Carolina facilities. New capacity at those facilities is expected to come online in late 2022 and mid-2023, respectively.

Visit Cambrex at CPhI NA booth 529