Germany-headquartered contract development and manufacturing organization Vetter is investing $285 million to build a clinical production facility in Des Plaines, Illinois, near Chicago. The company announced that it has broken ground and started construction on the site, which is expected to be ready for media fill by the end of 2029.
The investment in the new 860,000-square-foot site is meant to strengthen Vetter’s aseptic manufacturing capabilities in early clinical development and has the capacity to accommodate future expansion. The Des Plaines site will provide the CDMO with additional capacity for small-batch production of novel active ingredients, including space for warehouses, laboratories, and administrative offices.
“With its new location, Vetter is strengthening its presence in the North American market and supplementing its existing clinical network in Skokie, Illinois and Rankweil, Austria,” according to the announcement.
Udo Vetter, chairman of Vetter’s advisory board, said in a statement the Des Plaines project marks another milestone in the CDMO’s international growth strategy. Vetter is celebrating its 75th anniversary as a family-owned business based in Germany. The company generated sales of more than €1.1 billion in 2024, beating the previous year’s sales by 11%.
Last month, Vetter detailed some of its planned site expansions including extending a production facility in Langenargen, Germany, as well as working on “preliminary plans for a production facility in Saarland, Germany.”
In March, Vetter announced the expansion of its Center for Visual Inspection and Logistics, located in the Erlen Industrial Area in Germany, to accommodate increasing demand for the company’s pharmaceutical filling services.
Construction of the 22,500-square-meter extension began in late 2024, with completion expected by 2028. With an investment exceeding €150 million, the project will increase cold storage capacity by 16,000 pallet positions, bringing the total to 68,000 across various temperature requirements.