Meridian sets down $100m for US manufacturing facility
Meridian Medical Technologies, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), announced that it would build and invest into a facility in Bridgeton, Missouri. The company will spend more than $100m (€90m) into the space over the next four years, alongside the purchase of the facility itself.
The plant will cover 155,000-square-feet and will be used to increase production of drug-device combination products, and sterile-finish capabilities. Meridian stated that the facility is set to be completed in 2024, with the investment into the space continuing past this date.
Milton Boyer, CEO of Meridian, stated that opening the plant will allow the company to offer a broader array of CDMO services and increase capacity to existing companies.
The services offered will extend to the production of pre-filled syringes and cartridges, as well as “addressing a manufacturing shortage” that has emerged in complex products, Boyer added.
The exact number of employees set to be added by the facility was not revealed, but the company noted that it had added approximately 300 employees in St. Louis since January 2022, with a total headcount of 900 in the metropolitan area.
According to Meridian, the expansion in the state will be supported by ‘Missouri Works’ program, which allows companies to expand and retain workers by providing access to capital through withholdings or tax credits for job creation.
“We are excited Meridian Medical Technologies will be expanding its operations here and bringing more jobs to Missouri. Ameren Missouri’s Smart Energy Plan continues to be instrumental in making the region more attractive for businesses to grow here while also providing reliable energy to power the quality of life for the customers and communities we serve,” said Tara Oglesby, VP of Community, Economic Development and Energy Solutions at Ameren Missouri.
The decision to invest in its capabilities arrives after a series of business restructures and buyouts. Initially Altaris, a healthcare investment company, bought the Meridian unit from Pfizer for $51m in cash, not long after the investment firm had bought Kindeva from 3M for the substantially higher price of $650m.
At the end of last year, Kindeva and Meridian merged together to form a global CDMO focused on drug-device combination products, with the latter company operating under the umbrella of the former.
