Pharmatek, a contract development and manufacturing organization supporting the pharmaceutical industry, plans to expand its Good Manufacturing Practices facilities in San Diego, California. The company said its expansion comes at a time when the Company is experiencing strong growth and increasing global demand for its services.

"This expansion plays an important role in our continuous efforts to meet our clients' needs and our ongoing efforts to broaden our manufacturing capabilities," said Tim Scott, president of Pharmatek. "As we move toward becoming a more fully integrated CMO at all phases of the development pipeline, we will continue to invest in new equipment and our facilities." The additional manufacturing space increases Pharmatek's production capacity by 50 percent. A similar sized expansion is planned for 2014 to accommodate expected long-term growth of the Company's operations.

"Matched with our recent equipment purchases, the addition of automated packaging and larger suites enables us to handle larger scale clinical trial material productions; providing a higher level of customer service," stated Kevin Rosenthal, director of manufacturing at Pharmatek. "The ability to serve our clients longer, as they advance their compounds down the development pipeline, reduces their overall costs and time-to-clinic."

Projected for completion in the fourth quarter of 2013, the expansion includes three additional GMP manufacturing suites, a new automated packaging line and further drug product and cold storage. The packaging line will produce batch sizes up to 10,000 bottles per day. The new facility is designed to handle highly potent and cytotoxic compounds, control humidity between 20 and 60 percent RH, and includes client manufacturing viewing areas.