Siegfried expands US manufacturing footprint with acquisition of two facilities

In a move to expand its reach in the U.S., Siegfried has inked agreements to purchase a Noramco commercial-scale manufacturing site in Wilmington, Delaware and a Purisys clinical active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) development and manufacturing facility in Athens, Georgia.

The Swiss-headquartered contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) said the acquisition of the two small-molecule drug substance facilities will add “highly demanded” manufacturing capacity in the U.S. — the world’s largest pharmaceutical market. Siegfried has three U.S. sites: Grafton, Wisconsin, Irvine, California, and Pennsville, New Jersey.

Grafton specializes in early-phase development and manufacturing services, including services for projects with highly potent APIs. Irvine is a sterile drug product manufacturing site specializing in innovative and difficult to manufacture pharmaceuticals, ophthalmics, and drug delivery devices, while Pennsville is Siegfried’s drug substance manufacturing site for the U.S. market and provides spray drying operations globally.

Siegfried said it plans to expand its “fast-growing exclusive synthesis business” in the U.S. by optimizing controlled substance capacity at the newly acquired Wilmington facility and its Pennsville site.

“By adding exceptional U.S.-based capabilities, we will become even more attractive to both existing and new customers, creating new opportunities to accelerate profitable growth,” Siegfried CEO Marcel Imwinkelried said in a statement.

In Tuesday’s press release, the global CDMO also announced it is buying a drug substance site in Westbury, Tasmania, Australia from Extractas Bioscience, a manufacturer of purified products.

The financial details of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Siegfried said the transaction — with an affiliate of SK Capital Partners to acquire the business of the Noramco Group and Extractas Bioscience — is expected to close later this year. About 400 people are currently employed at the three small-molecule drug substances sites in the U.S. and Australia.

“Combined with the early-phase development capabilities of Purisys and the extraction expertise of Extractas Bioscience, the acquisition strengthens Siegfried’s integrated offering to its customers and provides a strong foundation for accelerating growth and improving profitability,” according to the company.

William Blair analysts contend that Siegfried is well-positioned as a global CDMO to grow at a 5.9% compound annual rate through 2029. The investment firm in 2025 initiated coverage of the company with an “outperform” rating.

“While often overlooked, we believe the small molecule space is an attractive market for CDMOs, and we expect a healthy outlook for small molecule drug sales,” analysts Max Smock and Christine Rains wrote in a September 2025 report to investors, noting that approximately 80% of Siegfried’s revenue is generated from manufacturing services for small molecule drugs.

With about 3,800 employees across 13 sites in seven countries on three continents, Siegfried has grown into one of the world’s leading CDMOs, according to the analysts. Of Siegfried’s global network of 13 sites, eight locations are optimized for drug substances and five facilities are designed for drug products.

Increasing importance of US footprint

In a note last month to investors, William Blair analysts called out the fact that Siegfried’s stock price at the time was down over 25% year-to-date. In their opinion, some of the “pullback” was due to the CDMO’s “relatively limited U.S. footprint in light of recent U.S. policy announcements aimed at incentivizing domestic manufacturing.”

However, the analysts said Siegfried “appears open to making further investments to expand its U.S. capabilities via strategic acquisitions, similar to the acquisition of its clinical site in Grafton, Wisconsin, completed last year” expanding its range of drug substances offerings for small and medium-sized pharmaceutical companies.

As of last month, the analysts said 80% of Siegfried’s targeted sales for 2026 were already booked. “We see ample room for margin expansion over the next few years as the company begins ramping up production at its new facility adds, continues to execute on its portfolio optimization strategy in its drug substance business, and pursues its operational efficiency goals,” they concluded.