Axplora Invests $52.5 Million into GLP-1 Manufacturing Facility
The company’s Mourenx plant in Southwest France aims to become an API network hub, with first supplies expected by next year.
Axplora, a partner to pharma companies and biotechs for complex active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), is investing $52.5 million into its Mourenx plant in Southwest France, as it looks to bolster its capabilities in the areas of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
This specific project will concentrate on large-scale API industrial chemistry and chromatography, and the company believes it will augment Mourenx’s services when it comes to the contract manufacturing of APIs and drug substances for FDA-approved biologics.
In fact, by boosting Mourenx’s infrastructure and services, Axplora will not only expand its role in peptide purification in a biologics environment, but also support the development of new therapies, such as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. 2
“GLP-1 therapies represent a paradigm shift in medicine, offering targeted therapies for complex diseases with unprecedented efficacy and tolerability,” said Arul Ramadurai, Axplora’s chief commercial officer. “This initiative, built on strong customer partnerships, reinforces Axplora’s role as a trusted partner in manufacturing life-changing, breakthrough medicines.”
Construction and infrastructure development will start right away, and the first supplies of GLP-1 therapies are expected by 2026. Company executives believe that the Mourenx site will be heavily involved in the expanding Axplora’s API network well into the next decade and even beyond that.
“This project is testament to our pioneering expertise in industrial chromatography, and working closely with our client, we target having the facility BLA-ready in 15 months. To achieve this our internal teams are working closely with partners in a strong cross-functional project team, well-supported by the local authorities. We are looking forward to a bright future at Mourenx,” commented Dr.Pere Patón-Morales, chief operating officer.
Speaking of Axplora investments, last year, the company financially committed $8.4 million toward growing its antibody drug conjugate (ADC) payload manufacturing capacity at its Le Mans site in France to assist in providing cancer treatments for patients.3
Specifically, the investment covers a new production suite for ADC payload manufacturing, in order to allow the company’s pharma partners to design new targeted therapies in oncology. Its capabilities include the production of multiple payloads at kilogram scale.
“This increased capacity is the result of our long-term strategy of growing in a sustainable manner, with the commitment to provide more efficient and optimized manufacturing processes to secure the supply chain of our customers,” noted Rachel De Luca, Le Mans’ site director. “We are proud to develop tomorrow’s anticancer drugs to treat patients and confident that this investment will open up new opportunities to fight against cancer together with agility and reliability.”
References
1. Axplora announces €50 Million Investment in GLP-1 Manufacturing at Mourenx (France) Site. Axplora. February 12, 2025. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://www.axplora.com/axplora-announces-e50-million-investment-in-glp-1-manufacturing-at-mourenx-france-site/
2. Saraceno N. United States Beyond the GLP-1 Headlines. Pharmaceutical Commerce. February 12, 2025. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://www.pharmaceuticalcommerce.com/view/beyond-the-glp-1-headlines
3. Axplora invests €8 million in Le Mans to further expand its capacity for antibody drug conjugate manufacturing. Axplora. January 30, 2024. Accessed February 14, 2025. https://www.axplora.com/axplora-announces-e50-million-investment-in-glp-1-manufacturing-at-mourenx-france-site/
