Shilpa CDMO to invest $50 M in commercial peptide manufacturing

Shilpa CDMO is investing $50 million to expand its peptide manufacturing capabilities as global demand accelerates for GLP-1s and a new generation of more complex peptide therapeutics. 

The phased investments will span the next few years and add 10 KL of solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) reactor capacity to the three existing clinical-phase manufacturing lines. A fourth line for commercial manufacturing at Shilpa’s Raichur Unit-I campus is already scheduled to open in December 2026, with commercial supply ramping up through 2027.

The CDMO plans to add further 2 KL, 3 KL and 5 KL SPPS reactors, which will establish one of the largest multi-tonne peptide capacities in India.

The new commercial line features 500 L and 1,000 L reactors in a single block supporting annual production of up to one metric tonne. Purification includes two 2-metre DAC columns with a 10000 LPH preparative HPLC system. The line will also include 1000L/hr nano filtration and a large scale lyophilizer of 1000 L capacity.  

The expansion builds on Shilpa’s existing cytotoxic and peptide conjugate product development capabilities, with one line dedicated to cytotoxic peptide manufacturing usings solid-phase peptide synthesis. 

Shilpa CDMO's expanded peptide operation will comprise six parallel cGMP manufacturing lines, allowing multiple programmes to run independently. The platform supports solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), liquid-phase peptide synthesis (LPPS) and hybrid synthesis (SPPS + LPPS), allowing manufacturing routes to be tailored to the molecule, its development stage and intended commercial scale. Capabilities span linear, cyclic and branched peptides, including molecules incorporating unnatural and D-amino acids, lipidation, conjugation and radioligand peptides etc.