Dive Brief:
- Switzerland-based CordenPharma is investing 900 million euros ($980 million) over the next three years to expand its peptide drug platform in Boulder, Colorado, and Europe, the pharmaceutical company announced July 16.
- The Colorado site will increase large-scale peptide manufacturing capacity to meet the growing demand for GLP-1 drug treatments, driven by contracts totaling about 3 billion euros.
- CordenPharma is also planning a peptide development and manufacturing plant in “the heart of Europe,” but didn’t specify in its announcement where on the continent the plant would be located.
Dive Insight:
The expansions aim to help CordenPharma reach 1 billion euros in sales for both its injectable and oral peptides by 2028.
It marks the largest investment ever for the 18-year-old contract drugmaker and is designed to meet the growing global demand for GLP-1 products for people with diabetes and obesity, according to the release.
The individual investment amount and expansion timeline for each plant wasn’t disclosed. The facilities will be fully integrated within CordenPharma’s existing network, the release stated.
CordenPharma has 11 facilities across Europe and North America. In fiscal year 2023, the organization generated sales of 880 million euros and had over 3,000 employees, according to the release. The company also invested about 20% of its net sales towards expanding its development and manufacturing footprint across the globe.
In 2022, CordenPharma was acquired by Astorg, the European private equity firm behind the company’s ambitious expansion plans.
CordenPharma has two Colorado sites: One was acquired from Roche in 2011 and the other from Pfizer and Hospira in 2017, according to a company fact sheet.
In January 2023, the company signed a multi-year manufacturing agreement, potentially valued at $1 billion, to develop an “innovative peptide” at one of the Colorado sites. CordenPharma didn’t disclose who the customer was in the agreement.
The CDMO also completed facility automation upgrades and increased capacity at the same site last September, adding another 60 employees to its over 500-person staff.
Other major GLP-1 drugmakers have been making moves in the U.S. weight-loss industry. Novo Nordisk will spend $4 billion to boost production of its fast-selling weight loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic at its North Carolina plant. The Danish company is trying to fend off Eli Lilly, which committed a total of $9 billion toward growing its Indiana site in May.
