Evonik announced a substantial investment in its US site Tippecanoe in Lafayette, Indiana. Over a period of five years, USD 100 million is earmarked for the renewal of key plant components for the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The aim of this measure is to optimise operational processes through increased automation, improved ergonomics, and enhanced efficiency. This serves to strategically position the company as a contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) in the pharmaceutical sector of the United States. The investment will be supported by regional funding programmes.
Dr. Guido Skudlarek, head of the Health Care Business Line at Evonik, emphasised the necessity of strengthening the US active pharmaceutical ingredient business and highlighted Tippecanoe's central role in establishing a resilient, globally balanced plant structure in light of increasing demand in the US. The Tippecanoe site is an essential component of Evonik's global CDMO network and specialises in the contract manufacturing of small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients.
With the modernisation in Tippecanoe, Evonik is investing in so-called Next Generation Technologies. These are intended to consolidate the company's technological leadership and promote the development of energy-efficient production processes. The measures are designed as targeted maintenance investments that support the site's cost leadership principle while contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, in line with Evonik's stringent investment guidelines.
The current geopolitical situation highlights the relevance of maintaining production capacities for essential medicinal active ingredients and modern active ingredient technologies in Western industrial nations. Complex molecular structures resulting from new therapeutic approaches place increasing demands on production. Evonik has experience in the synthesis of such complex active ingredients but plans to further expand and secure these capabilities through targeted investments.
Daniel Fricker, head of the Drug Substance Product Line at Evonik Health Care, stated that the investment in Tippecanoe would enable the company, together with its customers, to make more challenging molecules accessible for therapeutic areas such as oncology, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases. Tippecanoe is Evonik's second-largest site in the US and one of the largest production facilities for active pharmaceutical ingredients worldwide. Since acquiring it from Eli Lilly in 2010, Evonik has developed the site into a CDMO for complex active ingredient projects for various customers.
- —Capacity of 170 m³ for highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients (HPAPI) with containment systems (OEL up to 0.1 µg/m³).
- —860 m³ reactor capacity for general active pharmaceutical ingredients.
- —2,500 m³ for large-scale fermentation.
- —Broad technology portfolio.
