Rendering of the new Lexington sterile fill-finish facility. Image Credit: Piramal Pharma Ltd.
Piramal Pharma Limited, a global pharmaceuticals and wellness company, will be investing $90 million toward growing two of the company’s plants located in the United States: Lexington, KY, and Riverview, MI.1 The expansion projects are coming into fruition following demand from US customers, during a time in which drug supply services are being reshored back to the United States.
In fact, in a recent video interview with Pharma Commerce,2 Brad Stewart, BDO’s national life sciences co-leader, described the challenges that tariffs may pose to reshoring manufacturing services in the life sciences industry and described the strategies that pharma leaders can use in order to start shoring up their supply chains. He highlighted the complexity of supply chains in this sector, which are large, long, highly-regulated, and slow to change. Given that future administrations may alter tariff policies, reshoring decisions need to account for the potential reversal of these changes. While it can be more expensive, prioritizing U.S.-based manufacturing capacity can help de-risk supply chains, particularly as tariffs and uncertainty continue to affect global operations.
“The easiest point for most life sciences companies now may be just to minimize risks like that,” Steward explained. “If I can move some of that capacity back in the United States, look to do more of the work here so that I’m not worried about what the taxes or tariffs or anything else may be going forward, those are just things that allow me to focus on my core business of making products to help save people’s lives. I think the other thing … is that it’s a much more expensive thing to do, but I certainly think it makes sense if anyone’s planning on building new capacity to very seriously consider doing that in the United States.”
First off, Piramal Pharma’s Lexington site primarily focuses on sterile compounding, liquid filling, and lyophilization for sterile injectable drug products. The plant’s expansion project features 24,000 square feet of commercial-scale manufacturing space, alongside a new lab. Notable additions include two commercial-size lyophilizers, a new filling line, an external vial washer, and a capping machine. The additions to the facility are anticipated to be completed late 2027.
As for the Michigan facility, it has been known to specialize in the development and manufacturing of both active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and high potency APIs (HPAPIs). This plant will be designing a commercial-scale suite—scheduled for completion before the end of this year—that is intended for the development and manufacturing of payload-linkers, a type of HPAPI that are used in the production of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and other types of bioconjugate drugs.
Both facilities will play their part in a branded Piramal Pharma integrated ADC development and manufacturing program program “ADCelerate,” whose goal is to accelerate timelines.
“Since its inception, Piramal Pharma Ltd has invested $570 million in its US drug development and manufacturing capabilities,” said Peter DeYoung, CEO, Global Pharma. “The US is our largest market, where we currently employ approximately 750 people. Expanding the capacities and offerings in these two plants in the US, along with the prior major investments made in our Sellersville, PA drug product facility, and our inhalation anesthesia drug substance and drug product facility in Bethlehem PA, will support our customers who value our offerings in an onshore setting.”
Reference
1. Saraceno N. The Case for Reshoring Manufacturing to the United States. Pharmaceutical Commerce. March 10, 2025. Accessed May 12, 2025. https://www.pharmaceuticalcommerce.com/view/reshoring-manufacturing-united-states
2. Piramal Pharma Ltd. Continues to Invest In USA; $90M in Expansions of Two US Sites. PR Newswire. May 12, 2025. Accessed May 12, 2025. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/piramal-pharma-ltd-continues-to-invest-in-usa-90m-in-expansions-of-two-us-sites-302452450.html