Albemarle expands API capacity at Michigan facility
pharmafile | June 28, 2012 | News story | Manufacturing and Production |Â Â API, Albemarle, Michigan, manufacturingÂ
Fine chemicals, polymers and catalysts specialist Albemarle has brought new manufacturing capacity for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) online at its facility in Michigan, US, to meet “increasing demand for both generic API products and custom manufacturing services”.
The expansion of the South Haven plant is part of a series of initiatives at Albemarle which are intended to double the size of its business by 2015 to more than $5 billion.
“In the past two years, the number of custom API projects has more than doubled at the South Haven site,” said the company in a statement, while the projected value of its pipeline has nearly tripled.
Specialty pharmaceuticals are the largest single source of Albemarle’s custom service net sales, although the company also has makes significant revenues from agri-chemicals, lubricants and renewable chemistry.
Albemarle is a major supplier of ibuprofen and derivatives, and has a portfolio of almost 30 generic APIs. It also has a big presence in the $2.75 billion world market for bromine, which is used in the manufacture of pharmaceutical intermediates. Last month the company raised the price of its ibuprofen API by 15% as a result of increasing raw materials, energy and labour costs.
The investment in New Haven “matches the solids handling equipment with the reactor capacity and will enable the company to advance its growing portfolio of custom API products, several of which have progressed to late stage clinical development and pre-registration status”, said the company.
In the first quarter of this year Albemarle reported net sales of $712 million, with fine chemistry activities – which include its API and pharmaceutical intermediates business – rising 7% to $190 million.
The objective is to reach $1.3 billion in fine chemistry sales by the 2015 deadline. The company is due to report second-quarter figures on July 17.
Phil Taylor
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