AGC to Expand Synthetic Pharmaceutical Production in Spain

AGC Inc., a Tokyo-based manufacturer of glass, chemicals, and high-tech materials, is investing approximately $100 million to expand the facilities of AGC Pharma Chemicals Europe S.L.U. (APCE), an AGC subsidiary in Spain engaged in the synthetic pharmaceutical CDMO business. A new building with a total floor area of 7,500 m² will be constructed on the company’s site, increasing the current production capacity by 30%. The new facility is scheduled to start operation in 1H24.
 
APCE has incorporated AGC’s long-accumulated chemical synthesis technologies, including knowledge of handling fluorine, and the company’s number of contracts is growing faster than the synthetic pharmaceutical CDMO market, which is growing over 7% or more annually. To meet strong demand, AGC will further expand the capacity of this site, in addition to the 30% facility expansion announced in April 2020.
 
This expansion will include the introduction of facilities for highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients (HPAPI), such as cancer therapy drugs, for which demand has been increasing in recent years. AGC will consider additional capacity expansion in the near future as the newly constructed building has room for further expansion.
 
Under its medium-term management plan “AGC plus-2023,” the AGC Group has positioned its life science business, including its synthetic agrochemical/pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical CDMO services, as one of its strategic businesses. The Group aims to expand its sales of the life science business from 44.9 billion yen in 2018 to 135 billion yen in 2022 and 200 billion yen or more in 2025. This investment follows AGC Wakasa Chemical’s facility expansion in November 2021, and the company plans to continue aggressive acquisitions and capital investments in both its synthetic agrochemical/pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical CDMO business.