The Kansas City facility currently employs around 350 people but Catalent, with assistance from a Missouri state job-training grant, intends to increase this by an extra 230 following an expansion in its manufacturing and development capabilities at the site.
“Kansas City site is focused on accelerated development programs for solid oral products, as well as clinical trial supply services supporting our customers’ clinical trial activities,” spokesman Chris Halling told Outsourcing-Pharma.com.
“The site has particularly been supporting virtual, small and mid-size pharma clients for their product development and supply needs.”
Halling was unable to disclose whether the new jobs would be to service any specific contract but said the investment enables the development and potential future supply of several new products.
In November 2013, Catalent told this publication it was intending to build out dedicated space to service a commercial contract to provide drug product capsules of Imbruvica (Ibrutinib) for pharma firm Pharmacyclics.
At the time, the issue of jobs was brought up and we were informed the company was likely to expand its workforce to accommodate this and several other recently announced programmes at the site.
In January 2013, Catalent extended its agreement with Aegerion to manufacture the hypercholesterolemia drug Juxtapid (lomitapide) from the facility following approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the month prior.
Also in December 2012, Catalent was selected to commercially manufacture Exelixis’ medullary thyroid cancer drug Cometriq (cabozantinib) after providing analytical, clinical trial supply and manufacturing support for five years.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon and Kansas City Mayor Sly James visited the facility, acquired by Catalent from Aptuit in 2011, on Tuesday this week to discuss the expansion and the job-training grant.
"The short-term economic impact of this announcement, in terms of jobs added, is tremendous. But I’m also excited about the long-term impact of Catalent’s presence in Kansas City," said James. "The expansion of a global life science leader, like Catalent, in our landscape gives us an even larger stage on which to showcase our cutting-edge assets."