Swiss CDMO Micro-Sphere, which specializes in spray drying and capsule filling, has announced a greater than €5 million expansion of its Monteggio, Switzerland GMP manufacturing facility that includes new inhalation testing laboratory space as well as a containment system for handling high potency compounds. Micro-Sphere also announced that its manufacturing license has been renewed with the addition of biologics.
The company, which expanded its DPI capsule filling capacity in 2018 and added a fifth spray drying line at the Monteggio facility in 2019, says that it has invested approximately €30 million in the facility since 2017. According to Facility Head Matteo Berlusconi, equipment added in the past year includes two additional MG2 capsule filling machines, a Malvern Mastersizer 3000 for particle size analysis, and a second PSD-2 spray dryer.
Berlusconi commented, “This latest investment is another example of how we continue to invest and grow to serve market requirements and work with our clients to improve drug development and delivery. We will continue to respond to industry demand and our ability to take on more complex and larger-scale projects at the site is already moving to the next level with a new R&D department to offer formulation development expertise and focused on inhalation formulation development expected to be operational by the end of Q4 2022.”
Micro-Sphere Managing Director Michael Grassberger said, “The use of highly potent compounds is becoming increasingly common across the market and at present there are very few CDMOs offering this level of capability, especially when combined with our experience and expertise. This facility expansion, together with our track record in the industry, strengthens our ability to produce both clinical and commercial products whilst delivering a seamless experience to our customers across the globe.”
