Sumitomo Chemical to build API plant

Sumitomo Chemical has announced plans to build a new plant for APIs and intermediates to come onstream in September 2024 at its Oita works on the southern tip of Honshu. This comes in response to growing demand from the small molecule sector. No financial details were given.

Oita, the company said, “can manufacture a wide variety of APIs and intermediates that require complex chemical reactions and also flexibly scale from development to commercialisation”. It is also compliant with EU, US and Japanese GMP standards.

Sumitomo, which also began construction of a plant for drug substances for nucleic acid drugs at Oita in October 2021, said that it “will continue to enhance Oita Works as the core manufacturing site for the Sumitomo Chemical Group’s life science operations”. It also makes APIs and intermediates at other domestic sites in Gifu and Okayama.