The Rise of Injectable Drugs Market: A Deep Dive into the Sector

September 17, 2025 By admin Comments are Off

Discover the booming injectable drugs market. Learn how CDMOs are expanding sterile manufacturing and fill-finish capacity to meet global demand for life-saving drugs.

The pharmaceutical industry is experiencing a dynamic transformation, with few sectors growing as rapidly as the injectable drugs market. This surge is driven by a global shift towards advanced therapies, including life-saving biologics and the revolutionary GLP-1 agonists for diabetes and obesity. To meet this skyrocketing demand, contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) and contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) are investing heavily in sterile manufacturing and fill-finish capabilities. This article explores the forces behind this growth and rounds up the key expansions that are reshaping the pharmaceutical supply chain.

The Injectables Market: Growth and Key Drivers

The global injectable drug delivery market is a powerhouse of growth. According to multiple market analyses, the sector is projected to expand significantly over the next decade. Valued at over $760 billion in 2024-2025, the market is forecasted to reach more than $1.6 trillion by 2034, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) exceeding 8.5%.

Several powerful trends are fueling this expansion:

Chronic Disease Epidemic: The increasing global prevalence of chronic illnesses like diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune disorders is a primary driver. These conditions often require long-term treatment with injectable medications, particularly for high-potency and targeted therapies.
Biologics and Biosimilars: A major factor is the growing use of complex large-molecule drugs known as biologics. These drugs, which include monoclonal antibodies and therapeutic proteins, are highly effective but are unstable when taken orally. They require parenteral administration, making injectables the delivery method of choice.
Innovations in Drug Delivery: Advancements in devices like autoinjectors, prefilled syringes, and wearable injectors have made self-administration easier and more convenient for patients. This shift towards home-based care and improved patient compliance is further boosting the market.
COVID-19 Pandemic Aftermath: The pandemic underscored the critical need for scalable sterile manufacturing capacity, particularly for vaccines. This created a lasting emphasis on building robust, redundant, and geographically diverse supply chains.

The market’s rapid evolution has also led to strategic shifts. A notable event was Novo Holdings’ acquisition of the CDMO Catalent for $16.5 billion. This move, which saw three fill-finish sites transition to Novo Nordisk to support its blockbuster GLP-1 agonists, created a temporary gap in the market. However, other leading CMOs have since stepped up with significant investments to fill this void and meet the broader industry’s needs.

Companies Leading the Charge: A Roundup of Major Investments

In response to the market’s insatiable demand, pharmaceutical companies and CDMOs are funneling billions into capacity expansions. These projects range from new facilities to technology upgrades, all aimed at enhancing sterile manufacturing and fill-finish capabilities.

Major Players Expanding in North America

The North American market, particularly the United States, is a hub of investment due to its strong regulatory framework and high demand.

Vetter: The German-headquartered CDMO recently broke ground on a new $285 million clinical manufacturing site in Des Plaines, Illinois. The 160,000-square-foot facility will focus on aseptic manufacturing and will supplement Vetter’s existing North American operations.
Simtra BioPharma Solutions: Simtra is actively expanding its footprint in Bloomington, Indiana. The company purchased a 65-acre property near its current facility and is evaluating plans to install new manufacturing lines for oncology-focused injectable drug products, including isolator-based vial and prefilled syringe filling lines. This complements a larger $250 million construction project already underway at its existing site.
PCI Pharma Services: PCI’s acquisition of Ajinomoto Althea, a San Diego-based sterile fill-finish CDMO, marked a significant strategic move. The deal provides PCI with its first North American location for prefilled syringes and cartridges and enhances its capabilities in high-potent manufacturing, a crucial area for complex therapies like ADCs (antibody-drug conjugates). The company has also committed over $365 million to support the final assembly and packaging of injectable drug-device combination products.
Thermo Fisher Scientific: The company expanded its global network by completing the acquisition of Sanofi’s sterile fill-finish site in Ridgefield, New Jersey. This adds to its existing U.S. sites and is part of a broader strategy to add new high-speed prefilled syringe lines in North Carolina and the UK, demonstrating a strong push in injectable services.
Grand River Aseptic Manufacturing (GRAM): GRAM is adding a new 150,000-square-foot center for syringe and cartridge filling. This massive expansion will nearly double the company’s production space, allowing for four new filling and inspection lines.
Piramal Pharma Solutions: Piramal is investing heavily to expand its Lexington, Kentucky facility, which specializes in sterile compounding, liquid filling, and lyophilization for injectable drug products. The expansion, set to be completed in early 2027, will more than double the site’s annual batch capacity, ensuring it can meet rising demand.
Afton Scientific: The Virginia-based CDMO plans to invest over $200 million to expand its facility, with a focus on providing aseptic fill-finish services from preclinical to commercial scales.
Kindeva Drug Delivery: The company opened a new 155,000-square-foot aseptic injectable fill-finish facility in Bridgeton, Missouri. This move strengthens its position in the U.S. market.

Strategic Expansions in Europe and Beyond

European CDMOs are also making major investments to solidify their global leadership.

Lonza: Lonza is undertaking a significant investment of CHF 500 million ($547 million) to build a large-scale, commercial drug-product fill-finish facility in Stein, Switzerland. The facility is expected to be operational in 2027.
Adragos Pharma: Adragos is expanding its European operations. Last year, the company launched a new ampoule filling line at its Livron, France site, increasing its capacity to over 160 million ampoules per year. It also acquired Baccinex, a Swiss company specializing in sterile fill-finish for clinical trial supplies and small-to-medium scale commercial production.
Delpharm: Delpharm is modernizing its facility in Boucherville, Quebec, Canada, with a $220 million investment from public and private sources. This project will expand the plant and install a new sterile filling line. Additionally, the company inaugurated a new sterile filling line in Saint-Rémy, France, adding an extra 45 million units of capacity.
Ten23health: This Swiss-based CDMO opened a new state-of-the-art fill-finish facility in Visp, Switzerland, in 2024. It provides capacity for both clinical and commercial filling of vials, syringes, and cartridges.
Recipharm: In Germany, Recipharm has made its new modular sterile filling system fully operational. The system is designed for process development and pilot-scale clinical supply, supporting a wide variety of product types.
Upperton Pharma Solutions: Upperton completed a new 7,000-square-foot sterile manufacturing facility in Nottingham, UK. This adds to its existing facility and will support the manufacturing of aseptic and terminally sterilized small-volume liquids and powders.

The continued investment in these facilities underscores the industry’s commitment to ensuring a reliable and robust global supply of life-saving injectable drugs.

Conclusion: A Future Built on Investment and Innovation

The injectables market is a beacon of innovation and growth in the pharmaceutical industry. The data clearly shows that demand is not just high – it’s accelerating. This growth is driven by the global fight against chronic diseases and the development of next-generation therapies.

In this high-stakes environment, CDMOs and CMOs are proving to be essential partners, providing the expertise and capital needed to build and scale sterile manufacturing and fill-finish capacity. The strategic expansions by companies like Vetter, Lonza, PCI, and Thermo Fisher are not merely business decisions; they are critical steps in building a resilient global supply chain. These investments, alongside the necessary GMP audit and regulatory consultants, ensure that life-saving medicines can be produced efficiently, safely, and at scale.

As the industry moves forward, this trend of robust investment in injectable capabilities will continue to be a defining characteristic, propelling the market to new heights and ultimately improving patient access to critical therapies. The future of medicine is increasingly in a syringe, and the industry is ready to meet the challenge.