Thermo Fisher Scientific has expanded its API manufacturing capabilities having completed its acquisition of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Approximately 400 employees at the Cork, Ireland, site will become part of Thermo Fisher’s Pharma Services API business.
 
The Cork site will join 1300 colleagues across Thermo Fisher’s expanded API network of manufacturing facilities in Florence and Greenville, SC; Linz, Austria; and Regensburg, Germany, adding new API development and commercial capabilities and enhancing its pharma services offering. Thermo Fisher will leverage the expertise of the team in Cork to develop new synthetic processes, and help customers scale up from clinical development to commercial supply to meet the increasing demand for APIs.
 
“Together with our colleagues in Cork, we’ll offer access to a fully integrated global network of world-class API facilities with deep experience, enabling us to be an even stronger partner for customers looking to outsource their API development and manufacturing,” said Patrick Glaser, president of Thermo Fisher’s drug substance business. “We look forward to helping our customers bring even more important new products to market and making a difference in patients’ lives.”
 
This acquisition is part of Thermo Fisher’s overall strategy to further strengthen its pharma services business. In 2019, the company will invest more than $270 million to expand its capabilities, capacity and talent globally. This includes the recent opening of its new virtual reality training center in Greenville, NC; expansion of its sterile fill finish sites in Greenville, and Monza, Italy; expansion of its clinical trials supply and distribution capabilities in India, Argentina and China; and expansion of its new viral vector manufacturing sites in Alachua, FL, and Cambridge, MA. The business also plans to open a new viral vector manufacturing facility Lexington, MA, later this year.