Evonik recently announced that it will spend an initial €25 million (equivalent to nearly $28 million) to expand its Dossenheim and Hanau facilities in Germany.

The expansion is meant to meet the growing demand for the contract manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and advanced intermediates within Europe. Evonik expects to complete the €25 million first phase by mid-2021, with the entire project finalized before 2024.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the focus of many pharmaceutical companies to have European-based manufacturing sites that can support the production of their life-saving drug products for reliable supply to regional healthcare markets,” said Thomas Riermeier, SVP of Evonik’s Health Care business line. “The expansion of our Dossenheim and Hanau sites in Germany is now underway to support customers seeking a trusted European site for the clinical and commercial production of their APIs and intermediates.”

Dr. Andreas Meudt, VP of Exclusive Synthesis for the Health Care business line of Evonik, added that expansion of the two multi-purpose cGMP sites in Germany will widen Evonik’s ability to support highly complex customer projects.

Complex API projects —  often associated with oncological, anti-viral and other specialized drug products — typically require a range of advanced technologies including continuous processing, highly pure PEGs and mPEGs, catalysis and cryogenic chemistry, according to Evonik.