Piramal invests in UK ADC capacity

India-based drugmaker Piramal Healthcare (BSE: 500302) says that it is to invest $2.5 million at its US Food and Drug Administration-approved Grangemouth, UK, site to upgrade one of its antibody drug conjugate (ADC) manufacturing suites, from clinical phase to commercial grade, in response to customer demand.

The upgrade will give Piramal two commercial grade ADC suites at the Grangemouth facility, while retaining clinical phase manufacturing capacity in other suites on site. ADCs are targeted therapies designed to deliver a drug payload to cancer cells while minimising the adverse effects on normal healthy cell and Piramal Healthcare was the first contract supplier of ADCs globally.

The batch size offered from the Grangemouth facility ranges from 1kg-1.5kg and Piramal has capacity for further expansion on site if required. As part of the investment, the areas supporting the manufacturing suite will also be upgraded to provide new areas for buffer preparation, equipment preparation and antibody freeze/thaw.