Evonik has announced a €35 million expansion of its contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) capabilities in North America to meet growing demand for controlled release injectable formulations. The expansion of the U.S. and Canadian facilities, which includes the installation of a new filling line, production facilities and analytical labs, will create more than 50 jobs.

“Evonik is a global strategic partner to pharmaceutical companies seeking enabling solutions for polymer and liposome-based dosage forms,” said Don Enns, global head of Drug Delivery for the Evonik Health Care Business Line. “By increasing the production capacity of our RESOMER® functional excipients and expanding our contract development and production services, we can further help customers transform their APIs into high- performance parenteral medicines.”

Evonik Birmingham Laboratories (BHM) in Alabama is a global center of excellence for biomaterials and polymer-based injectable dosage forms. To further expand its range of parenteral drug development and manufacturing services, Evonik has installed an automated, custom-designed filling line for complex injectable products. Supplied by Bausch + Stroebel and scheduled to be fully operational later this year, the modular VarioSys® line will support the liquid, lyophilized or powder-filling of drugs in vial sizes of up to 50mL to be used in clinical or commercial applications.

Evonik is also constructing a new 2,900 square meter building at its BHM site that will significantly expand the global production capacity of its RESOMER® portfolio of bioresorbable polymers. The new building, which is scheduled to be commissioned later this year, will strengthen Evonik’s technological and supply leadership for bioresorbable polymers and provide customers with additional dual-source supply options.

At Evonik Vancouver Laboratories, the company is upgrading the existing facility and adding a second adjacent building that will more than double the total size of its Vancouver site to 4,300 square meters. The investments, which include the upgrade of GMP manufacturing facilities and the expansion of laboratories and scale-up services, will support new and existing customer programs.