AGC Inc., a Tokyo-based world-leading manufacturer of glass, chemicals, high-tech materials, has decided to expand the facilities of AGC Pharma Chemicals Europe S.L.U. (APCE), an AGC subsidiary in Spain engaged in the synthetic pharmaceutical business.

A new building with a total floor area of 7,500 m2 will be constructed on the company's site, increasing the current production capacity by 30%. The new facility is scheduled to start operation in the first half of 2024, with an estimated total investment of approximately $100 million.

This expansion will include the introduction of facilities for highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients (HPAPI), such as cancer therapy drugs, for which demand has been increasing in recent years. Furthermore, AGC will consider additional capacity expansion in the near future since the newly constructed building has additional room for further expansion.

Under its medium-term management plan "AGC plus-2023," the AGC Group has positioned its life science business, including its synthetic agrochemical/pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical CDMO services, as one of its strategic businesses. The Group aims to expand its sales of the life science business from 44.9 billion yen in 2018 to 135 billion yen in 2022 and 200 billion yen or more in 2025.