WuXi AppTec inaugurates a USD 100 million spray-drying line in Couvet

WuXi AppTec has opened a new pharmaceutical production line at its site in Couvet, in the canton of Neuchâtel. The USD 100 million investment is part of a broader project to make the site a main production center in Europe for the group.

WuXi AppTec has inaugurated a new pharmaceutical production line at its Couvet site, the result of a 17-month construction project celebrated on 24 September 2026. The line represents an investment of USD 100 million. The ceremony took place in the presence of State Councillor Florence Nater, head of the department of economy and social cohesion, and Sarah Fuchs-Rota, President of the Val-de-Travers municipal executive. The pharmaceutical group, which is of Chinese origin, acquired the plant, built in 2018, from Bristol Myers Squibb (formerly Celgene) in 2021.

Spray drying, a technology for the future

The line uses spray-drying technology, already common in the food industry and applied in pharmaceuticals for several years. It turns a liquid-form drug into a powder that is then packaged in capsules, increasing its solubility and bioavailability. Demanding treatments, notably in oncology, can thus be administered more easily and quickly by mouth. Dominique Chavigny, Associate Director of Manufacturing and Engineering at the Couvet site, describes spray drying as the production technique of the future. The new building is also designed to host a second, similar production line in the near future.

Jobs and local roots

The new line will create around 15 jobs, and site director Jamie Andrews expects staffing needs to grow in the coming years. He describes it as the largest and most recent of several investments made at the site over the past five years, and says WuXi AppTec intends to keep recruiting local staff and to strengthen its partnerships with the municipality and the canton. At the inauguration, Florence Nater noted that the new building is part of a broader project to make Couvet a main production center in Europe for WuXi AppTec.

Why Neuchâtel

WuXi STA, the WuXi AppTec subsidiary specializing in API and drug product manufacturing, chose the canton of Neuchâtel for its first European site, as highlighted in our overview of the canton.