IMA Life North America, part of Italy-based IMA Group, has opened a new 120,000-square-foot facility in Tonawanda, New York to increase the company’s production of freeze-drying equipment for the biopharmaceutical industry.

The $30 million expansion project includes 90,000 square feet of production space and 30,000 square feet of office space, replacing IMA Life’s existing 60,000-square-foot facility — which is also in Tonawanda, a suburb north of Buffalo. Freeze-drying equipment made in the plant will be shipped all over the world to support life-saving treatments to combat diseases such as cancer, according to the company.

At last week’s grand opening of the new Tonawanda facility, IMA Group Chief Financial Officer Sergio Marzo noted that the $30 million investment in the site is the largest outside of Italy for the company.  

IMA Life North America President Ernesto Renzi said the company’s pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers include Amgen, Merck, Moderna, and Pfizer, as well as major contract development and manufacturing organizations such as Thermo Fisher Scientific.

“This new facility represents far more than increasing capacity — it represents opportunity and gives us the space to innovate faster, to collaborate better, to serve our customers more effectively, to continue to invest in advanced technologies,” Renzi told the audience, adding that the demand for innovation in the freeze-drying equipment market has never been greater.

Freeze drying (lyophilization) processes enable product stability, extended shelf life, and enhance transportation efficiency by removing water from perishable materials through sublimation, transforming frozen water directly into vapor under controlled temperature and pressure conditions. Lyophilization is critical for preserving biologics, sensitive drugs, and vaccines, while maintaining biological structure and therapeutic effectiveness.

According to IMA Life, its innovations in lyophilization — such as eco-friendly air refrigeration — are helping it maintain the company’s “cutting edge” freeze-drying capabilities, including advanced controlled nucleation technology to improve ice structure uniformity and cycle consistency optimizing performance across the entire freeze-drying process.

“The large freeze dryers manufactured in Tonawanda can rapidly convert vials of liquid medicines and other pharmaceutical products into a powdered form that is shelf-stable and easy to transport,” IMA Life said. “The product range includes blowers, washers, depyrogenation tunnels, liquid and powder fillers, isolation technologies, freeze dryers, automatic loading/unloading systems and labelers.”

Freeze drying technology is essential for maintaining drug stability, extending storage periods, and enabling transportation under different environmental conditions, with next-generation equipment leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities for predictive process optimization, real-time quality monitoring, and automated parameter adjustment.

Biopharma drives freeze drying growth, innovation

The pharmaceutical and biotech sectors are the most significant growth drivers for freeze-drying equipment. Fueled by biologics and vaccines, the global freeze-drying equipment market is estimated to grow from more than $3 billion in 2024 to over $5 billion by 2033, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 5.71%, according to a report from market research firm Astute Analytica.

“The global freeze-drying equipment market is poised for a period of aggressive and sustained expansion, underpinned by massive capital injections and robust market fundamentals,” states the report. “Landmark investments, such as IMA Life’s $30 million facility and Parker Freeze Dry’s new 130,000-square-foot plant, signal profound industry confidence.”

Manufacturing facilities are increasingly adopting automated freeze-drying systems to boost production rates, minimize human error, and optimize operational efficiency. When it comes to technological advances, Astute Analytica’s report called the implementation of process analytical technology (PAT) a “proven strategy” that can reduce total lyophilization cycle times from more than 90 hours down to about 65 hours.

“This is further amplified by AI-driven smart freeze-dryers, which are showing the ability to reduce drying times by an additional 40%,” the report contends. “The financial impact is substantial, with continuous lyophilization processes shown to cut overall manufacturing costs by up to 25% while adhering to strict GMP standards.”