On April 21, 2022 Catalent, the global leader in enabling biopharma, cell, gene, and consumer health partners to optimize development, launch, and supply of better patient treatments across multiple modalities, reported a multi-year $350 million investment at its facility in Bloomington, Indiana, to expand biologics drug substance and drug product manufacturing capabilities (Press release, Catalent, APR 21, 2022, https://www.catalent.com/catalent-news/catalent-to-invest-350-million-in-integrated-biologics-drug-substance-and-drug-product-manufacturing-at-bloomington-indiana-facility/ [SID1234612725]). The project will serve the industry’s robust biologics pipeline across various modalities with new bioreactors, syringe filling lines, and additional lyophilization capacity, supported by quality control laboratories and complex automated packaging.
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The expansion includes the installation of new 2,000-liter single-use bioreactors and expanded downstream processing capabilities for drug substance, with the versatility to meet customers’ needs with batches of up to 4,000-liters using single-use technology, or 5,000-liters using existing stainless-steel bioreactors. Also included are new quality control laboratories and complex packaging space with additional high-speed, automated cartoning and auto-injector device assembly capabilities. It is envisioned that these new capabilities will be fully operational later this calendar year.
The site will also be adding to its drug product fill/finish capacity, with new syringe filling lines under barrier isolator technology and additional lyophilized vial capacity. When completed in 2024, the site’s broad range of fill/finish offerings will provide great flexibility in dose form presentations and batch sizes to serve customers with everything from early- and late-stage development programs to high-volume commercial supply across various modalities.
Altogether, these expansions are expected to add over 1,000 new jobs to Catalent’s Bloomington workforce in the coming years.
"We continue to see strong growth in demand for biologics development and manufacturing with a deep pipeline across multiple indications," commented Mike Riley, President of Biotherapeutics at Catalent. "These investments will enable us to expand our flagship Bloomington facility and extend our leadership as one of the largest and most comprehensive global centers for integrated manufacturing capabilities. The site offers highly flexible and scalable solutions to companies developing new biological drugs, vaccines, RNA therapies, and other innovative treatments for patients around the world."
This expansion follows a series of recent investments in Catalent Biologics’ global network, including the modernization of its fill/finish and packaging facility in Limoges, France, and the acquisition of a new biologics development and manufacturing facility near Oxford, U.K.