PCI Expands U.S. Fill/Finish Capabilities with Althea Acquisition
The acquisition will provide PCI with a large-scale manufacturing hub on the West Coast of the U.S., complementing its existing global facilities.
Global CDMO, PCI Pharma Services, is acquiring an entire equity stake in U.S.-based sterile fill/finish CDMO, Ajinomoto Althea (Althea), adding a large-scale manufacturing hub in San Diego, Calif., to PCI’s existing operations. The acquisition, which is expected to complete in May 2025, was announced in an April 24, 2025 press release (1).
Through this acquisition, PCI gains its first U.S. manufacturing location for prefilled syringes and cartridges, which will complement its existing global facilities. Additionally, the acquisition provides PCI with high-potent vial filling capabilities, giving the company the ability to produce the oncology modality of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). According to market research, the ADC market is expected to experience compound annual growth at a rate of 8.84% between 2025 and 2033 (2).
“To continue supporting the needs of our customers in their endeavors to bring life-changing therapies to patients, PCI continues to make sizable investments in the sterile fill/finish category that bring additional capabilities, capacity, and technologies into our portfolio,” said Salim Haffar, CEO of PCI Pharma Services, in the press release (1). “Welcoming Althea into the PCI family expands our capabilities to support several therapeutic and drug delivery modalities, including the emerging ADC marketplace, and complements our broad end-to-end solutions alongside clinical trial services and advanced drug delivery.”
In September 2024, PCI announced it was investing USD 365 million in infrastructure supporting the clinical and commercial supply of advanced drug delivery and drug–device combination products across Europe and the U.S. (3). Highlights of this investment included a 545,000-square-foot expansion at the company’s Rockford, Ill., dedicated to advanced drug delivery and drug–device combination assembly and packaging; and a newly acquired pharmaceutical packaging and device assembly facility near Dublin, Ireland, to provide commercial-scale packaging and assembly operations for injectables as well as oral solid dosage products.
“This substantial, multi-continent investment places PCI Pharma Services at the forefront of the global advanced drug delivery solutions and drug-device combination product assembly landscape,” said Haffar in a company press release about the investment (3). “The new and expanded facilities and infrastructure showcase our commitment to meeting evolving market and customer needs for clinical-to-commercial drug-device final assembly and packaging, and furthers PCI’s overarching purpose of enabling life-changing therapies and patient convenience.”
References
PCI Pharma Services. PCI Pharma Services to Acquire US-Based Aseptic Fill-Finish CDMO Ajinomoto Althea. Press Release, April 24, 2025.
Straits Research. Antibody Drug Conjugates Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Technology (Cleavable Linker, Non-Cleavable Linker, Linkerless), by Applications (Blood Cancer, Breast Cancer, Urothelial Cancer/Bladder Cancer, Others) and by Region (North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East, and Africa, LATAM) Forecasts, 2025–2033. Market Research Report, January 2025.
PCI Pharma Services. $365 Million Investment in E.U. & U.S. Facilities for Clinical & Commercial Supply of Advanced Drug Delivery and Drug–Device Combination Products. Press Release, Sept. 24, 2024.