Demand for HPAPIs drives Patheon to invest $1m in UK facility

Patheon is investing £600,000 ($1m) into the UK facility, upgrading it to add instrumented compression, automated encapsulation and coating capabilities in order to offer its clients a “choice of capabilities not previously available that are linked to a network of larger scale sites that are also located in EU,”​ according to Milton Park General manager Mike Mencer.

Whilst Mencer could not divulge information of specific customers or development projects to us, he did tell this publication the investment is being driven by an increasing demand for Early Development needs for highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients HPAPIs (as well as lower potency ones).

“Within the industry, the HPAPIs market is estimated to grow by 8.4% from 2009 to 2015 versus 6.3% in previous years,”​ he said, “and is comprised of both small molecule and biologics.”​

He continued: “Because Patheon is seen as the leader in contracted pharmaceutical development services [see here​], it made sense to invest in additional capabilities to support the market demands.​

“We see an increase in the demand for highly potent products, both those in development and those that are approved and being commercially produced, across all sectors of the Pharma industry.”​

The expansion - expected to lead to the creation of at least 8-10 new highly skilled and technical jobs, according to Mencer – comes almost exactly a year since Patheon last invested in the site.

That investment was for new drug delivery technologies including hot melt extrusion and spray-drying at the Oxfordshire site and was announced last February​ for an undisclosed but “modest”​ upgrade cost.

European HPAPIs​

Patheon joins a growing list of manufacturers investing in HPAPI capabilities in Europe, with other examples including Evonik​, Novasep​ and Aesica.

“HPAPIs form 10% of the overall market and are continuing to grow with a large number of discoveries for these compounds being made in Europe,”​ said Marvin Faber, senior director, corporate EH&S, Patheon.