Onyx Scientific, a global small molecule CDMO, is investing more than £1.5m to expand its Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facilities and increase commercial active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production at its Sunderland UK facility. The expansion will add four GMP suites, taking the total from six to ten, while increasing capacity for commercial API production and enabling faster delivery of early-phase programmes. The new capacity is expected to come online Q1 2027.
The investment covers additional infrastructure and equipment and will initially create nine new jobs across production chemistry, analytical and quality assurance, representing an overall increase of approximately 8%. Onyx also plans to increase headcount further in the near future. The expanded facilities are intended to give commercial clients greater production capacity while providing more flexibility to complete early phase GMP manufacture within accelerated timescales.
Chris Atherton, Commercial Director at Onyx Scientific, said: “This investment marks a significant commitment to our clients, enabling us to grow production to meet increased demand across our early-phase and commercial pipelines.” He added: “In a fast-paced industry, we have seen significant growth in these areas, which has underpinned the decision to expand our facility. Our pipeline is growing, and we want to set ourselves up for the future, ensuring that our capacity grows with demand. “Behind every API project is a potential life-saving medicine and a team working hard to move it forward. This investment gives our scientists more space and support to help clients’ drug development programs progress safely and efficiently.”
The latest investment forms part of Onyx’s long-term development of its CMC platform and provides greater flexibility in production scheduling. The expanded footprint is designed to allow commercial campaigns and time sensitive early phase GMP programmes to be handled alongside one another. Chris continued: “Clients value continuity as a molecule progresses. As specialists in the sector, we understand that drug development rarely follows a completely predictable timetable. Programmes can accelerate quickly as new data emerges, so the additional capacity will allow our teams more flexibility and give them the right environment to continue to deliver high quality work. We are looking forward to hitting the ground running having started the work on the development in August.”
The API manufacturing capacity expansion also reinforces Onyx’s long-term commitment to Sunderland and the wider North East, where the life sciences sector continues to play an important role in the regional economy. Phil Witcherley, Director of Economic Growth and Innovation at the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority, said: “The life sciences sector is important for the North East economy and is part of the region’s local growth plan. We are delighted to see this investment that will create skilled jobs in Sunderland and further show that our region is a great place for this sector.”
