LGM Pharma is expanding capabilities in Texas and Colorado with $9 million in new investments, following $6 million in 2025. That announcement preceded the Drug, Chemical & Associated Technologies Association (DCAT) Week, held March 23–26, 2026 in New York.

At that event, LGM Pharma CEO Prasad Raje and Senior Marketing Manager Matthew Grazioli spoke exclusively with Contract Pharma. Much of the discussion revolved around these investments, but the interview also covered industry trends in the last year.

Contract Pharma: The new, $9 million investment was described as the second phase of your CDMO growth strategy. Why is this money being invested now, and what differentiates this from the first investment/first phase?

Prasad Raje: The first phase was more about making sure that we were moving projects along from formulation development into either clinical trials or submission of 505(b)(2)s or NDAs [New Drug Applications]. Or, for projects that were starting small-scale and becoming commercial, we wanted to make sure that the capacity that we have matches customer needs as projects mature. 

There was also a need to upgrade to support more regulated products, expanding from over-the-counter to include prescription as well. 

The second phase is really continuing that effort as more projects continue to progress. Particularly, there is growth in our suppository and women’s health segment. So we had to expand that capacity because there are a lot more commercial products moving in that direction.

Matthew Grazioli: We anticipate 8–10% percent growth in women’s health in the pharmaceutical sector. A lot of that comes from the suppository dosage form. We are able to manufacture that at a commercial scale in Texas.

CP: These investments come amid a broader context of companies rethinking their manufacturing strategies within the U.S. How does announcing this additional investment reflect the industry’s current position on U.S. onshoring?

Raje: While we don’t know whether there is a direct correlation or not, we do know that customers are a little more sensitive, at least on the drug product side, to bring late-stage supply chain production closer to the customer and closer to their distribution.

Our expansion fit into that supply chain segment that clients want to bring closer to end markets. So, that is working in our favor. 

CP: The $6 million investment announced in 2025 was earmarked strictly for your Texas facility. Now, $4 million of the new $9 million is being directed there as well. Explain the importance of growing your footprint in Texas.

Raje: We started out predominantly investing in the Texas facility because there was absolutely a growth, a market, a niche segment that we have developed. That is really catering to what our expertise has become over the last 15 to 20 years.

Then, other products—non-sterile solutions, creams, ointments—are also moving along the development cycle toward commercialization. So that is the larger piece of our thesis and investment. We are expanding carefully in areas where we clearly see our opportunity funnel growing.

Customer needs in that segment have robust growth. So that is working out very well for us with this investment.

CP: In Colorado, the remaining $5 million in the most recent investment will go toward expansion of your facilities there. Do you have a timeframe for completion of that work?

Raje: For Colorado, what we had prior to this [investment] announcement is predominantly formulation development. It is a GMP [good manufacturing practice] pilot plant where we can make clinical trial batches.

We are taking our high-value, small-volume products and moving them to Colorado Springs for commercial manufacturing. This is closer to our formulation development team. This proximity will allow us to support those products more proactively, and have faster development and scale-up. In turn, this will better serve customers as well as patients.

However, to achieve that, we had to bring in commercial-scale capabilities there. Hence, we are investing $5 million to bring commercial activity to Colorado Springs. That expands the capabilities of this site beyond just [production of] clinical trial materials.

CP: How do these investments support LGM Pharma’s vision of being an ‘end-to-end’ CDMO partner?

Raje: Our strategy has always been to strengthen the pharmaceutical supply chain, particularly at the drug substance level through API sourcing. Over time, we’ve expanded our capabilities to support customers further downstream in response to what the market has been asking for.

That worked well for developing and taking on formulation development work. And now, we are carrying [that] all the way into commercial manufacturing, so customers don’t have to go [elsewhere].

Expanding our capabilities to bring new technologies and commercial manufacturing, beyond just clinical trial materials, has been a valuable component of our strategy. Combined with regulatory submission support, we have the end-to-end capabilities to go from an idea to a commercial product.

We have also been making similar investments in analytical labs. In this way, we have underlying analytical support through all cycles of drug development.

CP: In closing, how will expanding your U.S. capabilities help engender supply chain resilience?

Raje: Being more sensitive to the supply chain is a trend that we are seeing over the last two to three years, post-COVID. It is becoming more complex, with the trends in business, policy, and geopolitics.

Grazioli: There was a GlobalData survey in the second half of last year [that showed] the largest issue that people across the pharmaceutical industry see is supply chain challenges. Last year, it was tariffs. This year, we’re seeing geopolitical uncertainty. But really, over numerous years, we’ve seen it post-COVID with longer lead times [and] ongoing uncertainty, including to what degree people should keep additional safety stock.

There are certain things that are difficult to entirely onshore: many raw materials and drug substances, given the existing capacity and proximity to those raw materials established in other parts of the world. 

So that’s where we’re able to support the industry by finding these quality manufacturers across the world through our API sourcing division. And then onshoring the drug product manufacturing closer to the end market with our CDMO capabilities in the U.S.

This interview was lightly edited for length and clarity.