Simtra acquires Indiana site to expand US injectable manufacturing footprint

Simtra BioPharma Solutions, a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in injectable medicines, announced it has acquired a 65-acre property in Bloomington, Indiana, from medical device maker Cook Group. The site includes a former GE manufacturing facility with more than 300,000 square feet of space and is positioned near Simtra’s existing manufacturing operations.

According to the company, the purchase supports plans to expand commercial-scale injectable drug production capacity in North America. Simtra said it is evaluating the installation of isolator-based vial and prefilled syringe filling lines, which would represent its first U.S.-based commercial-scale capacity for oncology-focused injectables.

The move follows the company’s previously announced $250 million construction project at its current Bloomington site, as well as recent investments in its German facility, including a new $100-plus million production building and a $14 million conjugation and purification suite.

The company also recently inked a deal with MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, to support the manufacture of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).

Cook Group has said it will retain the western parcel of the site, which it originally purchased from GE in 2017, and that the sale of space to Simitra will not impact its own operations.