Vetter on the expansion path

German CDMO Vetter attended a meeting last week for residents and officials of Des Plaines, Illinois, to propose purchase and development of an 18-acre site, located at the corner of Mount Prospect and Algonquin Road.

Vetter says its plan for the expansion is to offer its global customer base a US manufacturing opportunity to meet supply requirements for commercialised drugs.

Vetter provides manufacturing services, from early clinical development through commercial filling and packaging of injectable drugs.

For the project, the company says it has planned an investment of approximately $320 million on construction and site improvements over 10 years.

Once it has reached its final expansion stage, the 18-acre site would include 1,138,237 square feet of facility space.

If approved, the facility would be the second US manufacturing site of the company.

The Des Plaines project would complement its existing US clinical development support service offering that consists of a small-scale manufacturing facility located in the nearby village of Skokie.

The facility will open up 400-500 new jobs, many of which would be local hires, according to the firm.

“We believe that this project represents a win-win scenario for the residents of Des Plaines and Vetter alike,” said Vetter managing director Peter Soelkner.

“For us, it would be the next step in our plan for continuous growth.

“Several of our customers have requested commercial manufacturing resources both in US and Europe for their multi-facetted market production needs.

“Being in a continuous dialogue with them, such a facility would enlarge Vetter’s geographical manufacturing opportunities, and thus, increase our customers’ flexibility.

“We are excited about the positive outcomes this project can bring to the city of Des Plaines, and becoming a good and trustworthy neighbor to its residents.

“Des Plaines is a great partner in the process, we would be happy to receive the project’s approval,” said Soelkner.

Founded as a pharmacy in Ravensburg, Germany, the company has evolved into a major CDMO.