Benzinga | Jul 21, 2021 02:14PM EDT

Catalent Plans $100M Expansion Of Biologics Capabilities At Italian Vaccine Plant

Catalent Inc (NYSE:CTLT) will begin the first phase of a planned $100 million expansion at its facility in Anagni, Italy, to add biologics drug substance manufacturing capabilities.

* The plant is currently filling vials of COVID-19 vaccines for AstraZeneca plc (NASDAQ:AZN) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ).

* The company plans to install two 2,000-liter single-use bioreactors at the Anagni plant and the infrastructure required for another six 2,000-liter single-use bioreactors.

* The initial expansion is expected to be commissioned and operational in April 2023 and will increase the site's workforce by as many as 100 employees.

* Later phases of the planned expansion may include 16,000 liters of total flexible manufacturing capacity, enabling a 2,000-liter to 8,000-liter batch production scale.

* Price Action: CTLT shares are up 0.28% at $113.00 during the market session on the last check Wednesday.