Catalent began construction of a $20 million expansion project at its clinical supply facility in Schorndorf, Germany.

The project will see the site’s footprint increase by 32,000 sq.-ft. to add capacity for the storage and handling of clinical trial supply materials at controlled room temperatures between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius and creates space in the original building to accommodate the installation of a new, fully automatic bottle filling line, and a dedicated area for Catalent’s FastChain demand-led supply service.

Work on the site is expected to be completed by June 2024.

“Our site in Schorndorf plays a key strategic role in our global clinical supply network, and this expansion will provide much needed capacity and capabilities to meet the growing needs of customers,” said Ricky Hopson, president, division head for clinical development & supply at Catalent. “Additional temperature-controlled handling, storage, and distribution means the facility is well-equipped to respond to the growing demand for clinical supply capacity and services in the region, including for products requiring cold chain support.”

Hopson added: “Working closely with our adjacent oral dose manufacturing center of excellence, and our European development centers for oral, biologic, cell therapy and gene therapy products, customers have access to fully integrated development, clinical packaging, and distribution solutions.”

Opened in 1996, Catalent’s Schorndorf clinical supply facility provides comprehensive clinical supply services including multi-lingual project services – including English, French and German – comparator sourcing, primary and secondary packaging, labeling, clinical storage and distribution, and returns and destruction.

The company’s FastChain demand-led supply service is a continuous GMP approach that decouples primary from secondary packaging to enable timely adaptation and regional supply of clinical materials.