28 July 2022 - - US-based contract development and manufacturing organization PCI Pharma Services has launched an expansion of its facility in Tredegar, Wales, UK, designed to help keep pace with the market growth of targeted oncology therapies, the company said.

The expansion includes two new facilities dedicated to the manufacturing and packaging of solid oral-dose tablets and capsules.

A second contained manufacturing building, capitalizing on the success of the original CMF1 which opened in 2013, will double large-scale processing capacity including dispensing and fluid bed granulation of high-potency solid-dose products at the commercial scale.

In addition, there is a new high-potency, multi-product packaging facility with primary and secondary blistering and bottling suites.

The primary and secondary packaging lines provide a fully integrated process, delivering end-to-end services for a global client base.

More than 1,300 medicines and vaccines in clinical trials were indicated for cancer treatment in 2021, compared to 1,100 two years prior.

Oncology treatments also accounted for 25% of all medicines approved by the FDA between 2010 and 2019, signaling that oncology will remain a key focus for the industry in the upcoming years.

Both facilities will contain state-of-the-art equipment, including a replica of CMF1's large-scale granulation suite and a down-flow booth with containment screening.

Duplicating the original CMF1 facility will provide both greater capacity and business continuity for clients.

The Tredegar expansion is also expected to create up to 40 new jobs in the first year and add more as the facilities scale up. PCI Tredegar currently employs close to 500 people, almost doubling the number of employees since the opening of CMF1 in 2013.

PCI has been operating in Tredegar UK for nearly 40 years.

PCI is a global CDMO, providing clients with integrated end-to-end drug development, manufacturing and packaging capabilities that increase their products' speed to market and opportunities for commercial success.

The company currently has 30 sites across seven countries (Australia, Canada, US, Ireland, Wales, Germany and Spain) and over 4,300 employees.