Catalent Pharma Solutions broke ground for a new $34 million expansion to its Madison, WI biologics manufacturing facility. When completed, the additional 22,000 sq.-ft. of space will accommodate a new 2 x 2,000 liter single-use bioreactor system, allowing the company to support late-phase clinical and commercial production of up to 4,000 liter batches. The new footprint will also support expansion of analytical and process development labs, as well as additional office space.
 
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) has awarded Catalent with as much as $1 million in state tax credits over the next three years.
 
“Our continued investment in biologics capabilities is in direct response to market demand, where underlying growth for large molecules is expected to exceed that for small molecule drugs,” said Barry Littlejohns, Catalent’s president of Drug Delivery Solutions. “We are immensely proud of our facility, and the people here in Madison who have helped achieve our customers’ program milestones and move toward larger commercial programs.”
 
Catalent’s Madison facility, opened in April 2013, is home to the company’s GPEx cell line technology used to create high-yielding mammalian cell lines. Catalent provides development, manufacturing and analytical services for new biological entities (NBEs) and biosimilars from the site.