UK govt awards Croda £15.9m for Leeds manufacturing facility expansion

Croda International has been awarded a £15.9m grant by the UK government to expand its manufacturing facility in Leek, Staffordshire.

The specialty chemicals company said the investment will "significantly" enhance the development of high-purity lipid systems, essential delivery systems for next generation nucleic acid drugs such as mRNA vaccines.

Croda will also invest £15.9m in the expansion. This is included within the company's existing capital expenditure programme outlined in the recent annual results.

The expansion will include building a state-of-the-art lipid system synthesis facility and enhancing innovation and analytical laboratory capabilities at Leek. The site specialises in the production of lipids, that are currently used in a number of Covid-19 mRNA vaccines, as well as other Croda health care technologies such as speciality excipients. The investment will expand the range of speciality lipids produced at the site and add significant additional production capacity.

Daniele Piergentili, president of Croda Life Sciences, said: "We are grateful to the UK government for its support for this important project. It shares our belief that lipid systems offer significant potential for the safe and efficient delivery of next generation vaccines and therapeutic drugs.

"This investment will meaningfully enhance our lipid system capability and manufacturing capacity, ensuring that Croda plays a central role in both the development and future supply of this important delivery technology."