Pharmaceutical company Esteve invests €100 million to expand manufacturing operations in Catalonia

Pharmaceutical company ESTEVE has begun building a new production unit at its Celrà plant (Girona, Catalonia), a project in which it plans to invest 100 million euros by 2026.

The company will increase its production capacity for active pharmaceutical ingredients in its main industrial center. When the new facilities become operational in the last quarter of 2026, Esteve will employ around 100 people in addition to its current workforce of 370 professionals.

The expansion will consist of building production and service buildings and installing up to 150 cubic meters of reaction volume. This will represent an increase of 45% over Esteve's current production capacity in Celrà and 15% over the company's global capacity.

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“The expansion of our main industrial center will allow us to meet growing global demand and expand our business”

Pere Mañé, General Manager of ESTEVE Química

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The construction of the new unit at the Girona site represents a significant step forward in developing, manufacturing, and selling active pharmaceutical ingredients to third parties (CMO). It will be equipped with advanced technological solutions that will enable the production of high-potency active pharmaceutical ingredients, as well as several innovations in digitalization and data use. This unit will produce several new products to be added to the current portfolio and distributed in the main regulated markets: the United States, Europe, and Japan.

"Thanks to our commitment to quality, efficiency, and reliability, our API development and manufacturing business has experienced remarkable growth in recent years. The expansion of our main industrial center will allow us to meet growing global demand and expand our business, furthering our mission to improve people's lives," said Pere Mañé, General Manager of Esteve Química.

In total, ESTEVE has a chemical R&D center in Barcelona and three production plants in Catalonia: Celrà (Gironès), Banyeres del Penedès (Baix Penedès), and Lliçà de Vall (Vallès Oriental). The company also has production centers outside Spain, such as Mexico (Jiutepec) and China (Shaoxing).

Barcelona-Catalonia, a thriving hub for Life Sciences

Barcelona-Catalonia has established itself as a premier hub for Life Sciences, boasting a world-class network of medical institutions, hospitals, research centers, biotech startups, and pharmaceutical companies. Catalonia stands out as Europe's most concentrated pharma environment, the birthplace of the five largest Spanish pharmaceutical companies: Almirall, Esteve, Ferrer, Grífols, and Uriach. 

The region is also home to over 1,300 companies in the life sciences industry. Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Novartis, and Roche are among the top global companies that have chosen to establish their production centers and R&D departments in Catalonia, drawn by the exceptional local provider base.

Catalonia is home to half of the industrial pharma companies in Spain, with 79 industrial plants and 15,806 employees. The region is also home to 91 leading scientific, technical, and research centers in the health, well-being, and life sciences industries.

Source: ESTEVE