Almac Sciences awarded Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund Grant

Grant awarded to support the expansion of Almac’s small molecule API manufacturing plant

Almac Sciences, a member of the Almac Group, has been awarded a Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF) Grant to support the expansion of its small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) manufacturing facility at its Global Headquarters in Craigavon, UK.

The grant will support the installation of the expanded facility, already under construction, which is due for completion in Summer 2025. Once complete, the 30,000 sq ft facility will support small molecule API production at 100s kg to metric tonne scale.

As announced by Jeremy Hunt, UK Chancellor, Almac was one of two UK pharmaceutical companies awarded the grant to support manufacturing expansion projects.  The Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) reopened the LSIMF in 2023 to support businesses investing in manufacturing projects in the UK. Over its lifetime, the fund will provide capital grants for investments in the manufacture of human medicines (drug substance and drug product), medical diagnostics and MedTech products.

Almac Sciences has grown rapidly over the last five years and this expansion is part of a multi-million-pound investment programme to support increased client manufacturing demands.  The first stage of Almac’s GMP facility expansion was announced late 2022 with an extension to its current GMP manufacturing facility, and warehouse expansion opened Summer 2023.  Increased capacity for peptide API production has just been announced,  creating another manufacturing centre of excellence and further supporting the business’ ongoing growth plans.

Dr Daniel Bayston, VP Small Molecule API, said: “As a privately-owned and independent company, we are committed to re-investing all our profit back into the business, allowing us to continuously innovate and expand.  We are delighted and grateful to be awarded this grant, assisting us with our ongoing expansion plans. 

“Almac has a strong, global reputation, built over the last 55 years as a trusted and stable CDMO partner for the world’s leading biopharma companies.  This new manufacturing facility is critical to support the increased demand from our clients and provides us with a stronger ability to serve our global customer base advancing human health.”

Almac has a proven track record and expertise in small molecule and peptide API manufacturing from pre-clinical to commercial scale and has developed long-established relationships from pharma and biotech clients offering comprehensive end-to-end development and manufacturing solutions.