Seqens Group, a developer and manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates, with headquarters in France, recently opened a state-of-the-art, 15,000 sq.-ft. R&D center in Devens, MA that will serve as one of the company’s global centers of excellence.

The new facility will provide advanced capabilities for the discovery and development of new drugs and therapeutics. It expands project flow and accelerates development of APIs and excipients, including lipids used for the manufacture of RNA vaccines for COVID. The investment in Devens significantly strengthens the company’s U.S. operations – which also includes contract development and manufacturing facilities in Newburyport, MA. 
 

Pierre Luzeau, Chief Executive Officer of Seqens Group, discusses the recent expansion into U.S. markets, outsourcing trends, and the company’s plan for continued growth in the CDMO space. –KB 
 
Contract Pharma: What’s the importance of expanding into U.S. markets?
 
Pierre Luzeau: Further expansion into North America enables Seqens to support our customers with integrated R&D services that set new benchmarks for innovation, safety, sustainability and quality. Having manufacturing plants and R&D centers in strategic regions around the world enables us to support key phases of our customers’ projects with world-class global collaboration. 
 
For biotechs, the U.S. is an important market, and within the U.S., we find that Massachusetts is one of the world’s most dynamic places for drug discovery and development. It is also very strategic for Seqens to be close to such a strong academic hub. Greater U.S. expansion and collaboration with R&D centers in France allows us to strengthen and accelerate the development of our networks while ensuring that the next generation of biotech companies have the space and resources they need to test out, challenge, and nurture early ideas from wherever they are.
 
Contract Pharma: What trends are you seeing with outsourcing and manufacturing onshoring?
 
Pierre Luzeau: Following the pandemic, its impact on manufacturing and disruption of the supply chain, we’re seeing that there is an increasing need for onshore discovery and manufacturing to reduce the risk. Additionally, outsourcing research, development and manufacturing activities allows companies to leverage additional expertise and resources that can be difficult to nurture in-house, while leveraging global best practices and expertise.
 
Contract Pharma: What’s Seqens’ strategy for continued growth in the CDMO market?
 
Pierre Luzeau: We are in a highly regulated industry that needs a tremendous amount of scientific data in terms of efficacy, quality, and safety to bring a new molecule to the market. The digitization of R&D operations is a strategic axis for data management, and we’re committed to digital transformation across all of our global operations to empower speed of execution and data-driven reliability. 
 
Seqens is also investing significantly across the company in such technologies as flow chemistry and biocatalysis to speed development of custom polymers, lipids, and high potency APIs. We’re also working diligently to identify and create solutions to address some of the most pressing needs in the pharma industry.  For example, to combat a shortage of the pain reliever paracetamol, known as acetaminophen in the U.S., Seqens is currently building a plant in France to produce over half of Europe’s paracetamol needs.  
 
Additionally, environmental issues are part of our priorities and processes for the development of new active ingredients. We’re committed to the highest levels of environmental, social and governance standards, with 15 EcoVadis platinum and gold sites among our global integrated network. Sustainability will increasingly become a core mission of Seqens Group.

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Pierre Luzeau has spent nearly two decades serving as President and CEO of Seqens, a $1.4 billion French biotech and pharmaceutical giant, leading the company to significant growth while also establishing a robust Corporate Social Responsibility program that is a key part of the company’s culture. Prior to that, he spent years in the industry, including three as president of Rhodia Engineering Plastics, and held leadership positions with ISA-Riber, Thomson CSF, and Pechiney. He serves as a board member of Roquette, a global leader in specialty foods and nutrition ingredients, of the HCL Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that supports patient care projects in 13 hospitals, and member of the strategic Committee of Nov’Santé. He also serves as chairman of the Competitiveness Committee of UIC (Trade Professional of Chemicl Industries), and member of the Strategic Committee of the French Chemical Industry.