Cambrex Starts Construction on $120 Million Iowa API Expansion

Cambrex, a contract development and manufacturing organization based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, announced on 30 oktober 2026 the groundbreaking of a $120 million expansion at its Charles City, Iowa manufacturing facility. The company said the project will add 160,000 liters of manufacturing capacity, increasing the site’s total capacity by approximately 25% to nearly one million liters to support the development and commercial manufacturing of small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and synthetic peptides. Cambrex anticipates the project will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2028.

Cambrex marked the start of construction with a groundbreaking ceremony on 29 oktober 2026, bringing together company leaders, employees, state and local officials, and members of the Charles City community. A caption accompanying the release identified those pictured at the ceremony as Joe Nettleton, vice president of operations and site leader for Cambrex Charles City; Timothy Fox, chief executive of the Charles City Area Development Corporation; U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley; Iowa Lieutenant Governor Chris Cournoyer; John Andrews, Cambrex vice president of operations; and Claudio Russolo, Cambrex chief operating officer and incoming chief executive officer.

The milestone comes as the Charles City site marks its 100th anniversary, a century of operations at the facility. “This groundbreaking marks an important milestone in our continued investment in U.S. manufacturing and in the Charles City site,” Russolo said. He added that expanding commercial-scale capacity for both small molecule and peptide manufacturing strengthens the company’s ability to support customers as their programs advance from development through commercialization.

The Charles City facility provides development and manufacturing services for small molecule APIs, synthetic peptides, and pharmaceutical intermediates, supporting projects from clinical development through commercial-scale production. Cambrex said the expansion builds on the site’s existing infrastructure and technical expertise while providing additional capacity to meet customer demand.

First Announced in oktober 2025

Cambrex first announced the $120 million investment on 22 oktober 2025, describing it as an expansion of its U.S. operations addressing increased demand for API development and manufacturing and accelerating its position in the peptide therapeutics market. That announcement stated the investment would support a 40% increase in the Charles City site’s large-scale manufacturing capacity, reaching nearly one million liters. The facility sits on a 45-acre site and manufactures a broad range of APIs and pharmaceutical intermediates, including highly potent molecules and controlled substances.

Thomas Loewald, Cambrex’s chief executive at the time, said customers, in partnership with federal and state agencies, were reshoring drug manufacturing in the United States, which he described as the world’s largest pharmaceutical market. He called the Charles City facility “the nation’s largest independent API manufacturing site” and said the company was seeing very strong demand from customers to partner with Cambrex to utilize the expanded capacity.

The oktober 2025 commitment followed a series of earlier expansions across the company’s network. Cambrex listed the addition of highly potent API and large-scale manufacturing capacity in Charles City in 2022; new laboratories and clinical and small-to-medium volume commercial manufacturing capacity, designed for commercial therapies targeting rare diseases and orphan designations, in High Point, North Carolina in 2023; and expanded capabilities and new GMP manufacturing capacity for peptide therapeutics in Waltham, Massachusetts in 2025.

Engineering Studies and a Leadership Transition

On 23 maart 2026, Cambrex announced the completion of initial engineering studies for the new large-scale API manufacturing plant in Charles City, with groundbreaking then scheduled for late 2026. At that stage, the company described a new plant with 140,000 liters of capacity, including large-scale and mid-scale reactors, advanced Hastelloy agitated filter dryers, and enhancements to existing manufacturing suites, representing a 20% increase in large-scale manufacturing capacity upon completion of that phase. Cambrex said the expansion is designed to support complex chemistry, including controlled substances, highly potent APIs, and commercial-scale liquid-phase peptide manufacturing.

The same maart 2026 announcement detailed a $30 million expansion underway at the company’s Milan, Italy site, adding new analytical development and process research and development capabilities as well as upgrades to multiple production plants. Cambrex said the Milan project was expected to be completed in the second half of 2027, with additional land acquired to support future growth.

Russolo spoke at the groundbreaking as chief operating officer and incoming chief executive. Cambrex announced on 1 oktober 2026 that its board of directors had appointed him chief executive officer, and he is set to assume the role of president and CEO on 6 november 2026, succeeding Loewald under a succession process planned by the board. Russolo joined Cambrex in 1998 and held positions of increasing responsibility, including vice president of sales and marketing, business unit president, and chief operating officer.

Cambrex describes itself as a global CDMO providing drug substance development and manufacturing across the entire drug lifecycle, as well as comprehensive analytical services. The company reports more than 45 years of experience and a team of 2,000 experts serving global clients from North America and Europe, with specialized drug substance technologies and capabilities that include continuous flow, controlled substances, peptide synthesis, solid-state science, biocatalysis, material characterization, complex synthetics, and highly potent APIs.