Merck announces ADC/HPAPI expansion

Merck KGaA is to spend €59 million to expand HPAPI and ADC manufacturing capabilities and capacity at its facility near Madison, Wisconsin. Completion is expected by mid-2022 and should add approximately 50 full-time jobs from 2021.

The investment will allow large-scale manufacturing of highly potent oncology compounds, the company said. The 6,500 m2 building will be one of the largest dedicated HPAPI facilities specifically designed to handle single-digit nanogram OEL materials.

Merck noted that this is an addition to its campus in St Louis, Missouri, which was the first commercial ADC facility in North America and which offers ADC bioconjugation, APIs, excipient and adjuvants. Both sites were part of SAFC and came to Merck when it merged with Sigma-Aldrich.