The contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) announced yesterday it will be formulating and manufacturing Nexium (esomeprazole) for Pfizer from its complex tablet site in Winchester, Kentucky which recently underwent a $52m (€48m) expansion.
Catalent spokesman Chris Halling told Outsourcing-Pharma.com the Pharma Giant awarded the contract “as a result of the expansion” but was not the motivation behind that investment.
In 2013, Catalent broke ground on the new 80,000 sq ft capacity at Winchester, pledging $35m worth of investment and around 90 manufacturing jobs. By the time the expansion was completed in April, a further $17m had been invested and the headcount increased by a total of 140.
The company added fluid bed capacity, expanded its analytical laboratories, and built an open facility design to provides flexibility in supporting the requirements for new customers.
Under this agreement, Catalent will make Pfizer’s 20 mg Proton Pump Inhibitor drug into enteric coated, delayed release pellets using fluid bed technology, as well as encapsulate these pellets into two-piece, hard-shell capsules.