Evonik, Higuchi open joint pharma lab in Japan to support oral drug delivery

Evonik, a specialty chemicals and drug delivery company headquartered in Essen, Germany, and Higuchi, a pharmaceutical trading company based in Japan, will open a joint laboratory in Yokohama, Japan to support oral drug delivery formulation development for pharmaceutical customers in Asia. The Open Pharma Lab opens May 1, according to the announcement.

The facility provides pharmaceutical developers with hands-on access to Evonik’s EUDRAGIT polymers and formulation expertise, supporting the development of patient-centric oral dosage forms. The lab is designed to enable closer collaboration with local customers through technical services, formulation support and application development.

According to the companies, the lab will help streamline formulation workflows and accelerate development timelines by integrating materials science with process and application expertise. The initiative also expands Evonik’s regional innovation network across Asia, complementing existing research and development infrastructure.

The collaboration builds on a long-standing partnership between the companies, focused on advancing excipient technologies and formulation capabilities in Japan. The new facility is intended to increase local access to drug delivery solutions and strengthen support for region-specific product development needs.

The Yokohama lab follows other recent regional and capacity investments by Evonik. Last week, the company announced an approximately €80 million ($93 million) investment to expand biotechnology capabilities at its Fermas site in Slovenská Ľupča, Slovakia, adding downstream fermentation capacity to support contract drug substance manufacturing and creating approximately 50 jobs.