ESTEVE CDMO Commits Additional Investment to Illinois Small-Molecule API Site
Another round of investment has been approved by ESTEVE CDMO for use at its Illinois small-molecule API facility, strengthening the site’s reactor capacity and containment capabilities.
Specialist in small-molecule APIs and pharmaceutical intermediates, ESTEVE CDMO, has announced a USD 17.5 million investment at its Morton Grove, Illinois facility. The funding will add two 500-gallon reactors, enhance containment in the site’s early-stage development laboratories, and fund a warehouse refurbishment. ESTEVE expects the upgrades to increase flexibility during early development and expand capacity as customer programs progress towards larger clinical and commercial manufacturing requirements (1).
Morton Grove combines process R&D, analytical and stability testing, CGMP API manufacturing and CMC support, enabling customers to move from early-stage development through to manufacturing at a single site. ESTEVE acquired the facility through its purchase of Regis Technologies in July 2025, establishing a U.S. manufacturing and development presence and adding approximately 70 employees.
The announcement follows a USD 15.5 million expansion program launched earlier this year, bringing total announced investment at the Chicago-area site to USD 33 million. This included reactor upgrades, powder transfer systems and distillation tanks, as well as thermal-management improvements designed to extend reactor operating temperatures from -15 °C to +140 °C. It also covered cleanroom upgrades, a SCADA system for real-time monitoring and control of manufacturing processes, and uninterruptible power supplies for quality-control laboratories (2).
“This investment represents another important milestone in the transformation of the Morton Grove site into ESTEVE CDMO’s center of excellence for early-stage development and manufacturing in the U.S.,” said Andrea Oro, Managing Director US and Global Head of Commercial Operations and Strategy at ESTEVE CDMO, in a company press release (1). “All of this with the goal of better supporting our customers in their shared purpose of improving patients’ lives.”
Chen Qingguang, Morton Grove Site Director at ESTEVE CDMO, added, in the press release (1): “This investment is giving our talented team the infrastructure and capabilities to perform at their best. By upgrading the Morton Grove site, we are enabling our people to fully leverage their expertise and deliver even greater value to our customers.”
The investment reflects ESTEVE’s broader push to grow its CDMO network beyond Europe. Alongside facilities in Spain, China, and Mexico, the company has positioned the U.S. as a key market for supporting pharmaceutical and biotech developers from preclinical development through to commercial supply. The company has also committed substantial capital to expanding its CDMO capabilities in recent years, reporting EUR 500 million (approx. USD 560 million) of investment over the past two years across CDMO expansion and other strategic priorities (3).
References
1. ESTEVE. ESTEVE CDMO Expands U.S. Capacity with Additional $17.5 Million Investment in Morton Grove.Press Release, Oct. 12, 2026.
2. The Pharma Navigator. ESTEVE Invests Millions into Chicago Facility Expansion. thepharmanavigator.com, accessed Oct. 16, 2026.
3. ESTEVE. ESTEVE’S Expansion and Growth in EU and USA Accelerates its Transformation into a Global Healthcare Company. Press Release, April 30, 2026.
