Artesan

What Artesan does

Artesan Pharma GmbH & Co. KG is a German pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) headquartered in Lüchow, Germany. Founded in 1948 by Dr. Johannes Hotzel in Jesteburg and relocated to Lüchow in 1973, the company has spent more than 75 years serving European and international pharmaceutical customers and has been a 100% subsidiary of the Klosterfrau Healthcare Group since 1996. Artesan operates four production facilities — two in Lüchow (Werk 4.1 and 4.2, focused on solid dosage forms), a Liquida facility in Berlin (Werk 1–3, producing non-sterile liquids), and a supplements-focused site in Vouvry, Switzerland (Werk 5) — supported by ~660 employees across Germany and Switzerland.

The company's core product capabilities span solid dosage forms (tablets with granulation up to 2 tons/day, film coating, sugar-coating, blister packaging, homeopathic globules), sterile prefilled single-use syringes (terminal steam sterilization, ~25,000 syringes per chamber load), hard-candy lozenges (3,500–6,800 kg batches), and non-sterile Liquida products (nasal sprays, syrups, drops in 3,000–10,000 L batches). Supporting services include product development, technology transfer (including ICH stability studies), an in-house analytics laboratory, serialization and aggregation under the EU Falsified Medicines Directive, and regulatory affairs (eCTD-format dossier preparation for human, veterinary, and medical products). Multiple GMP certifications across human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, plus ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 certifications, underpin its qualification status.

Commercially, Artesan generates revenue through project-based B2B contract manufacturing and development fees, with multi-year contracts and per-batch pricing dependent on specifications, complexity, and service scope. Its sales motion is enterprise-led by a Director of Sales & Business Development, targeting pharmaceutical customers requiring full-service CDMO support from product idea through to finished packaged product. The company's stated annual revenue was approximately 75 million EUR (per company website).

Name

Artesan

Legal name

Artesan Pharma GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://artesan.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1948

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Artesan is a German pharmaceutical CDMO with ~660 employees and four production sites in Germany and Switzerland, providing contract development, manufacturing, and regulatory services across tablets, sterile syringes, lozenges, and non-sterile liquids for European and international pharmaceutical customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing

NAICS

Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing (325412), Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing (325411), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAGABAB

Small-Molecule Drug Product (Solid/Oral/Parenteral) CDMO

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Life Science Tools & Services (CRO/CDMO/Lab Services)/Contract Development & Manufacturing Organizations (CDMO)

SECONDARYHLAGABAH

Sterile Fill-Finish & Aseptic Manufacturing CDMO

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Life Science Tools & Services (CRO/CDMO/Lab Services)/Contract Development & Manufacturing Organizations (CDMO)

SECONDARYHLAGABAL

Process Development & Tech Transfer Services (CDMO)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Life Science Tools & Services (CRO/CDMO/Lab Services)/Contract Development & Manufacturing Organizations (CDMO)

Keywords

• Pharmaceutical contract manufacturing
• Drug product development
• Sterile syringe filling
• Solid dosage forms
• Regulatory affairs services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lüchow

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Contract Manufacturing Services: Full-service contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) providing pharmaceutical manufacturing services. Revenue generated through development fees, manufacturing fees, and per-batch pricing for pharmaceutical companies. Services span from product development through to finished packaged product.
2. Product Development Services: R&D services including formulation development, analytical development, product design, and technology transfer. Modular service offerings that can be bundled with manufacturing or purchased separately.
3. Regulatory Affairs Services: Regulatory consulting and dossier preparation services including eCTD-format documentation, expert reports, and certifications for human and veterinary drugs as well as medical products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Artesan is a full-service contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for the pharmaceutical industry, manufacturing solid dosage forms (tablets, film-coated tablets, sugar-coated tablets, granulates, homeopathics), hard-candy lozenges, prefilled sterile single-use syringes, and non-sterile liquids (nasal sprays, syrups, drops). Services span product development, technology transfer, analytical testing, serialization and aggregation, and regulatory affairs support, guiding customers from initial product idea through to finished packaged product.

Product overview

Artesan is a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) offering a comprehensive portfolio of pharmaceutical manufacturing services and products. The core offerings include Solid Forms (tablet production with granulation, coating, sugar-coating, and packaging), Lozenges (hard candy production), Sterile Single-use Syringes (prefilled syringes), and Liquids (nasal sprays, syrups, drops). These manufacturing capabilities are supported by services including Product Development, Product Transfer, Analytics, Serialization & Aggregation, and Regulatory Affairs. The company operates as a full-service partner, guiding customers from initial product idea through to finished product with individual packaging, release, and distribution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Solid Forms (tablets, coated tablets, sugar-coated tablets, granulates, homeopathics) Comprehensive solid-dosage-form contract manufacturing including granulation, tabletting (sustained-release, orodispersible, chewable, vaginal, two-layer, and 2mm mini-tablets), film coating (taste-masking, light/moisture protection, sustained release, enteric coating), sugar-coating, homeopathic globules and pellets per HAB, and packaging (Alu-Alu and push-through blisters, child-proof options, cartonization, and bottle filling for 30+ bottle types and click-dispensers).
• Lozenges (hard-candy lozenges) Continuous-cooking hard-candy lozenge production for chemical and natural-based APIs at 2% dosage accuracy, with batch sizes from 3,500 to 6,800 kg and output up to 850 kg/h, offered to pharmaceutical customers under CDMO terms.
• Sterile Single-use Syringes (prefilled, ready-to-use) Contract manufacturing of prefilled sterile ready-to-use syringes for direct application, handling low viscosity solutions through to high-viscosity gels, with terminal steam sterilization in the final container at approximately 25,000 syringes per chamber load, supplied to pharmaceutical customers.
• Liquids (nasal sprays, syrups, drops) Non-sterile liquids contract manufacturing covering nasal sprays, syrups, and drops, processing alcohol- and water-based solutions in flexible batch sizes from 3,000 to 10,000 liters, for pharmaceutical customers.
• Product Development Services Full-service pharmaceutical product development from API selection and formulation through to clinical trial samples and development batch production, offered to pharmaceutical customers seeking formulation and process expertise.
• Product Transfer Services Technology transfer services including process validation, analytical method validation, ICH stability studies, container shipment studies, and CMC documentation in CTD format, provided to pharmaceutical companies moving products to Artesan's manufacturing sites.
• Analytics Services Laboratory analytics services using HPLC, dissolution testers, UV/Vis and atomic absorption spectrometers, gas chromatography, and titrators for chemical, spectroscopic, chromatographic, galenic, and microbiological testing, with results captured in an in-house laboratory data system.
• Serialization & Aggregation Services Anti-counterfeiting serialization and aggregation following the EU Falsified Medicines Directive, implementing grandparent–parent–child hierarchical tracking from blister to pallet, combined with digital and analog serialization for tamper-evident pharmaceutical distribution.
• Regulatory Affairs Services Regulatory affairs support including preparation of dossiers in eCTD format, expert reports, and certifications for human and veterinary drugs as well as medical products, offered to pharmaceutical customers alongside manufacturing and analytics.

Quantifiable outcome

• 75+ years of industry experience serving European and international markets
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Klosterfrau Healthcare GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1996Artesan became a 100% subsidiary of Klosterfrau Healthcare Group in 1996. Klosterfrau Group is one of the most important German pharmaceutical companies with almost 200 years of history. This integration enabled portfolio expansion and technology development.
• DaaksminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner company shown in footer logos section

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CordenPharma: CordenPharma is a full-service CDMO covering APIs, peptides, lipids, and drug product manufacturing including sterile injectables and oral solids. It directly competes with Artesan in serving pharma customers requiring integrated development and manufacturing across multiple dosage formats.
• Fareva: Fareva is a French-headquartered CDMO offering contract manufacturing across solids, liquids, sterile, and cosmetics. It overlaps with Artesan on solid dose, non-sterile liquids (syrups, drops, nasal sprays), and B2B pharma manufacturing services.
• Hovione: Hovione is a Portugal-headquartered, privately held CDMO with capabilities in API and drug product development, including solids and sterile. It competes with Artesan for mid-sized contract manufacturing projects from European and US pharma sponsors.
• Siegfried Holding: Siegfried is a Swiss-listed CDMO covering drug substances and drug products including solid dosage forms and sterile fill-finish. Like Artesan, it serves European and international pharma customers with integrated development and manufacturing services across multiple dosage forms.
• Vetter Pharma: Vetter is a German family-owned CDMO specialized in aseptic fill-finish of prefilled syringes and injection systems. It directly competes with Artesan's sterile single-use syringe offering for the same prefilled syringe customer segment.
• Recipharm: Recipharm is a European CDMO with broad service coverage including solid dose, sterile, and biologics manufacturing across multiple European sites. It is comparable to Artesan in customer type (pharma sponsors), product formats (oral solids, sterile), and B2B contract manufacturing business model.
• NextPharma: NextPharma is a European CDMO focused on solid, semi-solid, and liquid dosage forms across several European sites. It serves the same horizontal contract-manufacturing customer base as Artesan, particularly in non-sterile oral and topical products.
• Aenova Group: Aenova is one of the largest German-headquartered CDMOs offering solid dosage forms, softgels, and sterile fill-finish to pharma customers. Like Artesan, it is privately held, mid-sized, and competes directly for European contract manufacturing of tablets, coatings, and packaged products.

Broad incumbents

• Catalent: Catalent is a global, large-scale CDMO with extensive capabilities across oral solids, sterile fill-finish, softgels, and biologics. As a broad incumbent, it competes with Artesan for European pharma sponsors seeking contract manufacturing but operates at a much larger scale and format breadth.
• Aptar Pharma: Aptar Pharma is a global provider of drug delivery systems (nasal sprays, pumps, valves) and contract manufacturing services for liquids and sterile filling. It overlaps with Artesan's non-sterile liquids and nasal spray offerings, especially in inhalation and intranasal drug delivery.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/artesanpharma

Compliance4 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 Artesan