Particle Sciences in Bethlehem will begin commercial drug product manufacturing as part of a $60 million investment its parent company, Lubrizol Corp., is making to its LifeSciences business.
The Bethlehem expansion should cost in the neighborhood of $10 million including construction and equipment costs.
Mark Mitchnick, CEO of Particle Sciences and chief medical officer of Lubrizol LifeSciences, said the expansion should create around 30 jobs in the manufacturing and pharmaceutical sciences fields. Particle Sciences employs 85 people.
“When Lubrizol acquired us in September 2015, we were a drug development group for third parties,” Mitchnick said. That had Particle Sciences developing complex drugs, but only manufacturing critical trial supplies used in testing, but not for commercial sale.
With the expanded capacity, Mitchnick said, LifeSciences will be manufacturing pharmaceutical products for commercial sale by its customers.
He said the company already has a couple of customers lined up for when production starts and he expects more demand.
“We specialize in complex drug product technologies that are difficult to manufacture. It’s not the kind of thing that can be made anywhere,” Mitchnick said.
The new facility will be adjacent to the existing Bethlehem development and clinical trial manufacturing site.
In a release, Lubrizol said it will offer customers a seamless flow from development through manufacturing.
“As health care companies look for total solution providers, we continue to invest in the right areas to provide valuable offerings where our customers are experiencing the most growth,” said Deb Langer, vice president, Lubrizol Personal Home and Health Care.
The new space, which is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2017, will accommodate both sterile and nonsterile products, highly potent compounds and organic solvent processing.
