Axplora has announced an €8m investment for expanding antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) payload manufacturing capabilities at its Le Mans site in France.

The investment aims to support the development of Axplora’s ADCs for cancer treatments and is aligned with the French Government's France 2030 programme, emphasising the optimisation of the biomedicines production chain.

Axplora technical director Philippe Gaucher stated: “We welcome the support of the French government which allows us to accelerate our development and broaden our offering to our customers.

“We are pleased to be part of the national programme to encourage the development of biopharmaceuticals – France 2030 – and to strengthen our position to develop and produce innovative anticancer drugs in France.”

The investment will establish a new production suite designed to manufacture ADC payloads at a kilogram scale. This ensures a secure supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for the company’s partners.

The suite will feature advanced processing equipment and containment technology, capable of operating across a broad range of process conditions.

The Le Mans facility expansion project is expected to generate 15 new jobs. The facility has more than 15 years of experience in the synthesis and purification of commercial ADCs.

Le Mans site director Rachel De Luca stated: “This increased capacity is the result of our long-term strategy of growing in a sustainable manner, with the commitment to provide more efficient and optimised manufacturing processes to secure the supply chain of our customers.

“We are proud to develop tomorrow’s anticancer drugs to treat patients and confident that this investment will open up new opportunities to fight against cancer together with agility and reliability.”

Axplora is an API manufacturing partner to pharmaceutical companies and biotechs.