- Cambrex is investing $120 million to expand its Charles City, Iowa facility, increasing large-scale API manufacturing capacity by 40%.
- The expansion supports small molecule and peptide therapeutic production, reflecting growing U.S.-based demand and supply chain reshoring.
Cambrex, a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has announced a $120 million investment to expand its U.S. operations, focusing on API development and manufacturing. The funding will support a 40% increase in the company’s Charles City, Iowa facility, raising its large-scale production capacity to nearly one million liters.
The Charles City site, located on a 45-acre campus, produces a broad range of APIs and pharmaceutical intermediates, including highly potent molecules and controlled substances. The expansion responds to strong customer demand and broader industry efforts to reshore drug manufacturing in the U.S. to strengthen supply chain security.
“Our customers, in partnership with federal and state agencies, are reshoring drug manufacturing in the U.S., the world’s largest pharmaceutical market. Local API production is vital for supply chain security and resilience, and Cambrex will play a key role.”
Thomas Loewald, CEO of Cambrex
This investment builds on Cambrex’s recent expansions across its network, including additional highly potent API capacity in Charles City (2022), new laboratories and small-to-medium commercial manufacturing in High Point, North Carolina (2023), and expanded peptide therapeutic capabilities in Waltham, Massachusetts (2025).
