Michael Levis of Siegfried overviews the possibilities of a key pharmaceutical technology

The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries constantly seek innovative methods to enhance product stability, solubility, bioavailability and ease of use. Within this realm, CDMOs serve as invaluable partners in the development and production of high-quality drug products. Among the array of cutting-edge technologies that have transformed the CDMO industry, spray drying has emerged as a versatile and indispensable tool.

Siegfried has broke ground for its new global R&D centre for drug substances at its site in Evionnaz, Switzerland. The company is investing up to €23 million at the facility, which will begin operations in 2024 and host about 100 scientists, working alongside another R&D centre at the main site in Zofingen. The centre will host advanced chemical and analytical facilities and laboratories, offering chemical process R&D and analytical development services for the entire drug substances network, Siegfried said.

Following two years of construction work, CDMO Siegfried has officially opened its new development centre for drug products at its sites in Barberà del Vallès and El Masnou near Barcelona. About 40 specialist scientists will work there.

The centre features laboratories and pilot capacities, including dedicated facilities for highly potent oral solid dosage forms. Siegfried said that the opening also completes the successful integration of the two sites into its network. It originally acquired them from Novartis in 2020.

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.

Siegfried has agreed to buy two drug product sites near Barcelona, Spain, from Novartis, in a deal expected to close by the end of 2020. Terms were not disclosed but Siegfried said that its sales should surpass CHF 1 billion in 2021, with the drug product operations “achieving the targeted critical size”.

Chemical companies continue to invest in hand sanitiser in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. A large number of them are now producing in significant volumes.

Ineos, the largest European producer of the two key raw materials - isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and ethanol – has announced its intention to produce 1 million bottles of hand sanitiser/month from each of three newly built facilities in the UK, Germany and France.