Pfizer to Build Sterile Injectable Facility in Michigan

Pfizer will increase its commitment to US manufacturing with a $465-million investment to build a technically advanced sterile injectable pharmaceutical production facility in Portage, Michigan, the company announced in a July 24, 2018 press release. This investment expands Pfizer’s presence in Portage, located in Kalamazoo County, where the company now employs more than 2200 people at one of its largest plants. The investment will create an estimated 450 new jobs over the next several years.

The new, multi-story, 400,000-ft² production facility will employ technology called modular aseptic processing (MAP), which incorporates technically advanced aseptic manufacturing equipment, systems, and design, including multiple, self-contained modular manufacturing lines. This set-up allows the manufacturing line in each module to be entirely separate from all other manufacturing lines. Groundbreaking is planned for spring 2019, with construction expected to be completed in 2021. After the facility is validated by regulatory agencies, production should begin in 2024.

“Sterile drug product manufacturing is incredibly complex. This contemporary facility will combine cutting-edge technology and a highly talented workforce to assure we remain a trusted and reliable supplier of these therapies to patients,” said Ron Perry, site leader for the Portage plant, in the press release.

Pfizer’s Portage site is a primary global supplier of sterile injectable, liquid, and semi-solid medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients, producing more than 150 products. The plant has been in operation since 1948, and Pfizer has had a presence in the community through the legacy Upjohn Company since 1886. 

“This investment is part of our overall plan announced in January to invest approximately $5 billion in US-based capital projects as a result of the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. During the next six years, we expect to invest approximately $1.1 billion in Kalamazoo County-which is in addition to the $1 billion we have invested in the site over the past decade,” said Ian Read, Chairman and CEO, in the press release. 

Source: Pfizer