Ardena Invests in New Compaction Simulator in Ghent

Ardena, a specialist pharmaceutical CDMO and bioanalytical CRO, has invested in a new compaction simulator to enhance its tableting development capabilities and accelerate manufacturing timelines.

The Korsch Styl’One Evo platform simulates a rotary press’s compression profile, using small amounts of material to assess powder mechanics, compaction behavior, and scale-up parameters. This approach saves time and valuable drug product, helping candidates progress more quickly toward clinical development. Installed at Ardena’s headquarters in Ghent, Belgium—the company’s solid-dose development hub—the platform enables projects to advance rapidly before scaling up at one of Ardena’s global manufacturing sites.

“Drug development is under constant pressure to be accelerated and use less material in research to maximize efficiency, and the investment in this technology will allow us to rapidly screen manufacturing processes in tableting and generate a wealth of information using small quantities of drug product,” commented Ian Bilodeau, Global Head CDMO at Ardena. “Oral solid dosing is still seen as a primary choice for drug developers, and by having access to this technology gives us the opportunity to optimize processes and advance projects into the clinic as rapidly as possible.”

Ardena’s Ghent facility has over 100 employees. In addition to being the company’s headquarters and hub for drug development, it houses the company’s CMC Regulatory team, which provides specialist expertise and tailored services to support customers from pre-clinical to clinical manufacturing.

Related Insights

Earlier this year, Contract Pharma met with Henny Zijlstra, Chief Commercial Officer of Ardena, at BIO 2026, where we discussed the integrated CDMO model, Ardena’s new laboratory in New Jersey, and where the industry is headed. Read the full interview.