As part of its ‘Pivot to Growth’ strategy, generics giant Teva has announced that it intends to divest its API business, including its R&D, manufacturing and commercial activities, within 1H 2025. This is subject to finding a buyer at the right price, the company stressed.

The business sells APIs to third parties, plus certain contract manufacturing services and an out-licensing platform offering a portfolio of products to other pharmaceutical companies through its Medis affiliate. In Q4 2023, API sales were $153 million, 9% down on Q2 2022.

Italian CDMO Olon Group has announced a €10 million, multi-year expansion plan for its production site in Mahad, India. This will increase its chemical synthesis capacity for intermediates and APIs by 45%, particularly for products in high demand where Olon is already the market leader.

Cambrex has completed a $38 million expansion at its small molecule API facility in High Point, North Carolina. This doubles capacity, with new analytical and chemical development laboratories, two new clinical manufacturing suites and a small-scale commercial manufacturing operation with three work centres and 2,000 litre reactors. Work originally began in 2021. This has created about 70 jobs.

Ami Organics, an Indian maker of pharmaceutical intermediates, API and speciality chemicals, has signed a multi-year, multi-tonne agreement with Orion subsidiary Fermion. Under this, it will supply another intermediate in addition to the one agreed in November 2022.

Financial details were not disclosed but Ami said that, based on supply projections by Fermion, “the total minimum contract value is expected to be multi-million dollar” across multiple years. The product is expected to start contributing "meaningfully" to revenue from the 2025 financial year.

Piramal Pharma Solutions has begun production of initial batches of APIs in new reactor suites at its facility in Riverview, Michigan. This, the company said, represent the first in a three-step process for the development and manufacturing of Phase II clinical trial materials. As part of the programme, technicians are scaling up material from 10-15 kg to 75-80 kg.

UK-based CDMO Sterling Pharma Solutions has completed the acquisition of Novartis’ API facility in Ringaskiddy, near Cork, Ireland. The deal includes an on-going supply agreement to make APIs for cardiovascular, immunology and oncology medicines for Novartis. No financial details were disclosed.

Siegfried has held a groundbreaking ceremony for the largest construction project in its history. The Swiss CDMO will be investing up to CHF 100 million on a large-scale production facility at Minden, Germany. This will have up to 100 m³ of additional reactor capacity for API production when it is commissioned in 2024.