NORCHIM

What NORCHIM does

NORCHIM SAS is a France-based, privately held contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) specializing in fine chemicals and active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production for the pharmaceutical industry. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Saint-Leu-d'Esserent, the company operates as a SASU subsidiary of Moehs Group and runs a single integrated facility that combines research laboratories, an analytical laboratory, a pilot plant, and a cGMP-compliant manufacturing plant. Its service portfolio spans four offerings: Custom Research (R&D custom synthesis for pharmacological references, toxicology lots, and preclinical compounds), Process Research (development from single-step transformations to 11-step syntheses of naturally occurring compound derivatives), Pilot Plant (clinical-lot synthesis), and Custom Manufacturing (gram-to-ton scale production of intermediates and APIs under cGMP).

The underlying technology is process-chemistry oriented rather than digital: glass and double-envelope reactors from 5 mL to 20 L, hydrogenation capability up to 50 bar, Radleys multireactor process scouting, Buchi rotary evaporators, automated Combi-flash chromatography, and an analytical laboratory equipped with GC, HPLC, HPLC-MS, UV/IR spectrophotometry, Karl-Fisher, polarimetry, a 300 MHz Bruker NMR, and Mettler Toledo DSC. Quality and regulatory infrastructure underpins the offering: successful FDA inspection in June 2017 (no 483 form issued), French authorities GMP inspection in December 2014, and Japanese market accreditation support supply into the U.S., European, and Japanese pharmaceutical markets.

NORCHIM earns revenue through project-based B2B contracts with pharmaceutical and biotech customers, combining custom synthesis R&D services, process development, and cGMP manufacturing under quote-based pricing. Its primary customer segment is the pharmaceutical industry — specifically big pharma and biotech companies requiring partners for complex, multi-step synthesis and challenging development programs. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales, supported by a corporate website and email/contact form inquiries. The company states that roughly 20% of staff are dedicated to quality management, reflecting the regulatory intensity of its core business.

Name

NORCHIM

Legal name

NORCHIM SAS

Website

https://norchim.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NORCHIM is a French cGMP-compliant CDMO producing pharmaceutical intermediates and active ingredients from grams to tons. Founded in 1986 and part of Moehs Group, it serves big pharma and biotech with custom synthesis, process research, and pilot-to-commercial manufacturing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing (CDMO)

NAICS

Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (32541), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), All Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing (32599)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890)

akta.pro primary industry

Small-Molecule API & Intermediates CDMO (HLAGABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Small-Molecule API Commercial Manufacturing (HLAGAHAB), Custom Intermediates & Advanced Intermediates Manufacturing (HLAGAHAH), Clinical Trial Material (CTM) Manufacturing & Supply CDMO (HLAGABAK)

Keywords

• Custom pharmaceutical manufacturing
• Fine chemicals synthesis
• API manufacturing services
• Pharmaceutical intermediates
• Contract research services

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint-leu-d'esserent

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Custom Manufacturing: Full service production of sophisticated fine chemicals including intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients under GMP conditions
2. R&D Custom Services: Custom synthesis services for pharmacological references, Tox lots, early phase clinical quantities, advanced intermediates, and preclinical compounds
3. Process Research Services: Process development services for big pharma and biotech companies ranging from single step transformations to complex multi-step synthesis

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

NORCHIM is a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) that produces sophisticated fine chemicals—either intermediates or active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs)—used in the pharmaceutical field, under cGMP conditions. Its two main strengths are R&D activities for process scale-up and pilot-scale synthesis of new drugs and clinical lots for pharmaceutical trials. The offering covers the full chain from custom research and process development through pilot plant batches to full-scale custom manufacturing.

Product overview

NORCHIM is a fine chemicals company specializing in pharmaceutical manufacturing under cGMP conditions. The company offers an integrated suite of services comprising Custom Research for early-phase synthesis, Process Research for development optimization, a Pilot Plant for clinical lot production, and full-scale Custom Manufacturing. These services support production of pharmaceutical intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from grams to tons. The offering is a single unified service portfolio rather than a modular software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Research
• Process Research
• Pilot Plant
• Custom Manufacturing

Quantifiable outcome

• Successful FDA inspection June 2017 with no 483 form issued
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Moehs GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company of Norchim. Moehs Group is a fine chemical company focused on Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) for generic market and custom manufacturing under technology transfer or co-development arrangements. Norchim Process Research and APIs is part of Moehs Group structure.
• BenechimcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished in Lessines, Belgium since 1977. Active in industrial production of organic intermediates and finished products for pharmaceutical, food, perfumes and related industries.
• Berg (CFB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGerman company celebrating 50th anniversary as reliable supplier of chemical components. Grown from manufacturer of simple products to certified source of complex molecules requiring multistage synthesis. Focus on Research & Development, Production and Custom Manufacturing for international pharmaceutical and chemical industry.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cambrex: US-based small-molecule API CDMO with custom development and manufacturing services including controlled substances and complex chemistry; comparable in offering though larger in scale.
• Recipharm: Swedish CDMO providing API and finished dose manufacturing to pharma; relevant as a European-headquartered CDMO serving similar pharma customers, though with broader finished-dose scope.
• Axplora: European CDMO (formerly Novasep's CDMO business) offering API manufacturing including complex chemistry and HPAPIs; comparable in targeting complex small-molecule API contracts in Europe.
• Hovione: Portugal-based CDMO specializing in small-molecule APIs, intermediates, and complex chemistry with cGMP manufacturing and process R&D capabilities; highly comparable to NORCHIM in scope, scale niche, and customer base of big pharma/biotech sponsors.
• Carbogen Amcis: Swiss CDMO offering API development and manufacturing including highly potent and complex small molecules; directly comparable as a process-research-to-commercial CDMO serving pharma sponsors with challenging chemistry.
• Siegfried Holding: Swiss-listed CDMO providing API and finished drug product manufacturing services to the pharma industry; comparable in API CDMO offering but at significantly larger scale than NORCHIM.
• PharmaZell: European API manufacturer specializing in complex small-molecule APIs including steroids, hormones, and niche intermediates for pharma; comparable in offering API CDMO services from a European base.

Broad incumbents

• Johnson Matthey Health: Diversified chemicals company with a Health sector offering API and custom development services; relevant incumbent scale competitor in the fine chemicals/CDMO space though active across multiple end markets.
• Catalent: Global CDMO with broad API and drug product services; broad incumbent competing for many of NORCHIM's pharma customers though with much larger footprint and wider service scope.
• Lonza: Global CDMO leader with extensive small-molecule API manufacturing capacity including complex and highly potent compounds; broad incumbent setting pricing and capacity benchmarks in NORCHIM's market segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/norchim

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NORCHIM