CordenPharma, a global company active in the Contract Development & Manufacturing (CDMO) of APIs, drug products and packaging services, inaugurated a new flexible and modular production building in Villars-sur-Glâne on 20 May 2022. The new facility is the result of a collaboration between CordenPharma and the Biofactory Competence Center (BCC), also based in Fribourg, whose expertise lies in the design of modular infrastructures for the production of biopharmaceuticals.
“Western Switzerland […] is home to a high density of competences linked to life sciences and biotechnologies, which places the region among the global centers of excellence in the field. The local biotechnology and pharmaceutical production capacity is a real magnet for talent and investment. The canton of Fribourg is steadily gaining strength at the heart of this regional ecosystem,” said Olivier Curty, President of the Fribourg Cantonal Government and Minister of Economic Affairs, during the inauguration ceremony.
A site with a rich history and expertise
CordenPharma completed the acquisition of the Fribourg facility from Vifor Pharma in February 2022. The site, erected in 1966 to serve the Swiss market, was bought by the Galenica Group in 1977. Following the first FDA certification in 2012, and a series of international ones, broader business opportunities emerged for the facility at a global level. In 2020, a strategic decision was made to expand the site to provide additional production capacity. The new building is designed with a modular approach, in order to create additional space in the GMP area and activate further capacity when needed.
The site employs almost 300 people and offers end-to-end solutions starting from the development phase with formulation, analytical development and clinical supply, to production and packaging operations, including serialization. It has extensive expertise in solid dosage forms, such as tablets and capsules, as well as liquid dosage forms, such as syrups and drugs. It is also active in the ointment and gel segment.
