Recipharm will build a fill-finish facility in Uttarakhand, India increasing its fill-finish capacity to one billion sterile units per year.

Contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) Recipharm will construct the new facility on a greenfield site located near Dehradun in Uttarakhand as part of a joint project with Sobti.

The Uttarakhand facility is the latest development in Recipharm’s partnership with Sobti, which began in November 2019 when the CDMO invested in Nichepharm.

Image: iStock/Piotrekswat

“This is part of our strategy to increase our capacities in sterile fill-finish services, segment which is in high demand,” Jean-François Hilaire, executive vice president, Strategy and Global Integration and Mark Quick, executive vice President, Corporate Development at Recipharm told BioProcess Insider.

They continued: “Furthermore, from a strategic standpoint, this is an opportunity to leverage our presence in India to accede to expertise available there.”

The facility has been designed for authorization to supply to Europe and the US and is ready to begin production once approval has been confirmed by local authorities.

It will supply vials filled with liquid and powder, ampoules, lyophilised vials, dental cartridges, and pre-filled syringes.

Quick and Hilaire told this publication that the plant will not have an impact on current employees, but the new facility will require further recruitment.

“Dehradun is a very well-connected area,” said Hilaire and Quick.

“Furthermore, it offers good schools and universities, which makes recruitment easier thanks to available expertise but also in attracting talents from all over India. Additionally, it is close to our other facilities and our partners operate the facility.”

No financial details were disclosed.