CHAPEL-EN-LE-FRITH, U.K.—Looking to increase flexibility and reduce response times, chemical services company Peakdale Molecular is significantly increasing its capacity and capabilities by adding new facilities and equipment for large-scale processing and synthesis. The additions have allowed Peakdale chemists to perform a wider range of syntheses including lithiation, fluorinations by halogen exchange and palladium-mediated couplings.
The expansion comes at a critical time as the outsourcing pendulum has swung back again from earlier in the decade. According to a recent report by Kalorama Information, the market for contract drug development reached $19 billion in 2005 and is expected to grow another 17 percent annually to reach $42 million by 2010. This will represent 40 percent of the overall global drug development market by that time.
The company has added two microwave reactors, which will allow small-scale automated reaction screening as well as validated synthetic scale-up. Likewise, a new heater-chiller system will allow the company to perform ultralow-temperature processing of complex intermediates at a 30-L scale.
