SK pharmteco Announces $200-Plus Million U.S. Investment to Expand Small Molecule and Peptide Capacity

RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif., Sept. 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SK pharmteco today announced a comprehensive five-year, more than $200 million investment plan to expand and upgrade its U.S. development and manufacturing infrastructure across small molecules and peptides. The strategic initiative is a cornerstone of the company's broader global strategy to secure a resilient supply chain and support the unprecedented demands of its broad customer base.

This continues SK pharmteco’s global growth strategy, complementing the company's recent $6 million investment in its California facility to boost peptide development, the opening of two advanced manufacturing facilities at its Ireland campus to scale up the site’s capability to deliver both large-scale commercial small molecules and ultra-high-potency active pharmaceutical ingredients (HPAPIs), and its $260 million capacity expansion in South Korea to expand global small molecule and peptide production.

As part of this new domestic plan, SK pharmteco will make targeted investments across key technology platforms, including:

• State-of-the-Art Development Labs: Launching new, fully operational development laboratories to accelerate early- through late-stage development for small molecules and peptides.
• Advanced Peptide Purification: Expanding peptide manufacturing with new GMP kilo-scale capacity (scheduled to be operational in late 2026) alongside advanced liquid chromatography capabilities.
• Expanded & Upgraded Manufacturing: Constructing new manufacturing suites and modernizing existing GMP capacity to meet growing demand for small-molecule APIs.
• Infrastructure & Sustainability: Investing heavily in utility upgrades, logistics and digital infrastructures, and green technology to ensure sustainable, high-efficiency operations.
  
  

The multi-year investment is projected to create 100 long-term, high-skilled jobs in the U.S., significantly strengthening domestic capabilities in active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), peptide, and advanced therapy supply.

"This commitment to our domestic operations marks a transformative milestone for SK pharmteco," said Joerg Ahlgrimm, the company’s CEO. "By expanding our domestic capabilities across small molecules and peptides, we are directly addressing unprecedented demand from our broad customer base. Combined with our focus on green technology and modern infrastructure, we are ensuring our customers have a highly reliable, sustainable, and cutting-edge partner from early-stage development through full commercialization."

About SK pharmteco
SK pharmteco is a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with production sites, research & development facilities, and analytical laboratories across the U.S., Europe, and South Korea. The company’s core capabilities center on small molecules, peptides, and viral vectors, providing the specialized expertise needed to bring complex therapies to market. Through these pillars, SK pharmteco supports biopharmaceutical partners of all sizes with comprehensive development and manufacturing solutions worldwide. SK pharmteco is a subsidiary of SK Inc. (KRX: 034730) (SK), the strategic investment company for SK Group, South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate.   

Contact:
Keith Bowermaster, APR, CCMP
Communications Consultant
keith.bowermaster@skpt.com