Yahoo Finance Catalent (CTLT) Expands Its Facility Capabilities in Shiga
Catalent, Inc. CTLT announced that it has expanded the services and capabilities at its facility in Shiga, Japan. The expansion aims to include the storage, kitting and distribution of advanced therapies at ultra-low temperatures for clinical trials.
The facility expansion in Shiga follows investments at its facilities in Philadelphia, Singapore and Shanghai, China, in specialized, ultra-low temperature storage capabilities.
The latest expansion of the clinical supply facility is expected to solidify Catalent’s foothold in the growing clinical trials space worldwide.
Significance of the Latest Expansion
Catalent has installed advanced cryogenic freezers and material transfer equipment, which have been designed to retain the integrity of investigational advanced therapy products by minimizing their time-out-of-environment. The expansion is part of Catalent’s ongoing global strategy to increase its ability to handle, store and manage advanced therapies for clinical supply.
Per management, the market in Japan for advanced therapies and new modalities continues to grow. Management also believes this accompanies the increase in demand for companies, such as Catalent, which have the advanced infrastructure to handle the supply and distribution of these highly sensitive products and the specialized expertise and comprehensive knowledge to manage these supply chains.
Industry Prospects
Per a report by MarketsandMarkets, the global clinical trial supplies market is anticipated to reach $5.7 billion by 2027 from $3.6 billion in 2022 at a CAGR of 9.7%. Factors like rising research and development expenditure in pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies and an increasing number of clinical trials worldwide are likely to drive the market.
Given the market potential, the latest site expansion will likely provide a significant impetus to Catalent in the clinical trials space in the Asia-Pacific region.
Notable Developments
In April, Catalent announced that it had begun construction of a $20 million expansion project at its clinical supply facility in Schorndorf, Germany.
In March, Catalent announced the launch of the ProteoSuite Oral suite. The new oral developability assessment and manufacturing solution is expected to enable the rational selection of orally developable targeted protein degrader candidates and their progress into clinical trials.
The same month, Catalent signed a commercial supply agreement with Harm Reduction Therapeutics. Per the agreement terms, Catalent will manufacture Harm Reduction Therapeutics’ naloxone nasal spray, RiVive (3.0 mg), for the emergency treatment of known or suspected cases of opioid overdose.
Price Performance
Shares of Catalent have lost 63.9% in the past year compared with the industry’s 10.5% decline. The S&P 500 has risen 2.2% in the said time frame.
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Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Currently, Catalent carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space are Hologic, Inc. HOLX, Merit Medical Systems, Inc. MMSI and Boston Scientific Corporation BSX.
Hologic, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present, has an estimated growth rate of 5.1% for fiscal 2024. HOLX’s earnings surpassed estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average being 27.3%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Hologic has gained 5% against the industry’s 2.2% decline in the past year.
Merit Medical, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 11%. MMSI’s earnings surpassed estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 20.2%.
Merit Medical has gained 32.7% compared with the industry’s 3.6% rise over the past year.
Boston Scientific, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 at present, has an estimated long-term growth rate of 11.5%. BSX’s earnings surpassed estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed in the other two, the average surprise being 1.9%.
Boston Scientific has gained 24.5% against the industry’s 33.8% decline over the past year.
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