PCI Pharma Services completes Ajinomoto Althea buy as part of $1B investment strategy

PCI Pharma Services has completed its acquisition of Ajinomoto Althea, a U.S.-based sterile fill-finish contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) previously owned by Japan’s Ajinomoto Co.

The acquisition, announced April 24, is part of PCI’s broader $1 billion investment strategy aimed at expanding sterile manufacturing capabilities and advancing its drug-device combination product portfolio.

The Althea site in San Diego will serve as a major hub for aseptic drug product manufacturing, adding capacity for high-potent vial filling with lyophilization and supporting production of complex formulations, including nanoparticles, mRNA, and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).

This expansion places PCI among the limited number of U.S. CDMOs equipped to handle high-potency ADCs, reinforcing capabilities that include isolator-based filling and large-scale lyophilization, according to the announcement.

In addition to Althea, PCI is developing infrastructure across its global network. In the U.S., this includes two large-scale facilities at its Rockford, Illinois campus designed for high-speed assembly and packaging of prefilled syringes, autoinjectors, vials, and pen-cartridge combinations.

These facilities are expected to be GMP-ready by fall 2025. Meanwhile in Europe, PCI has expanded operations at sites in Ireland and Spain, with the addition of advanced assembly and high-speed syringe filling lines.

Last year, PCI announced it was investing more than $365 million in infrastructure supporting the clinical and commercial-scale final assembly and packaging of drug-device combination products utilizing advanced drug delivery systems, with an emphasis on injectable formats.

With these investments, PCI aims to offer end-to-end support for sterile drug product and device combination manufacturing, from clinical development through to commercialization. The company’s strategy integrates cold-chain clinical trial supply, drug production, final assembly, and packaging within a single global platform.

PCI’s operations include sterile and oral solid dose manufacturing, clinical trial supply, and packaging of drug-device combination products. With facilities in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, the company supports clients through clinical development, regulatory approval, and commercial launch.