Delaware's Chemistry Innovation Hub

Adesis brings world-class drug development to the First State

BY SCOTT KNORR

DELAWARE IS RAPIDLY EMERGING as a premier destination for life sciences innovation — and Adesis is proud to help lead the charge. As a contract development and manufacturing organization, we contribute to both the local economy and the global healthcare sector. With 100,000 square feet of modern facilities in New Castle and Wilmington, we’re helping to anchor a growing development hub — attracting top scientific talent, forging major industry partnerships, and supporting medicines that reach patients worldwide.

ADVANCED CHEMISTRY FOR FASTER PROGRESS

Every day, our chemists help pharmaceutical partners transform promising concepts into real candidates. We focus on the complex steps between discovery and a viable therapy — designing custom molecules, building robust synthetic routes, and scaling processes efficiently. The aim is practical: accelerate timelines, reduce surprises, and enable confident decision-making at each milestone. Because critical work often depends on timely materials and data, our synthesis, analytics, and process teams work in close collaboration.

This integrated approach shortens feedback loops and keeps critical-path items moving forward.

Our specialized capabilities include developing complex therapeutic molecules, such as peptides for diabetes and cancer, as well as deuterated small molecules designed to enhance functional properties. We also prepare regulatory starting materials, impurities, and reference standards, and we support analytical method development. These foundational elements help ensure smooth progression into later-stage development.

DEEP EXPERTISE, RIGHT HERE IN DELAWARE

With a team of more than 100 chemists — bringing experience across discovery, process development, and scale-up from bench to kilo quantities — Adesis has built a concentrated pool of advanced chemistry expertise. Paired with modern instrumentation and an agile operating model, our talent enables us to respond quickly, collaborate closely, and keep essential work moving when timelines are tight.

Our economic impact extends beyond the laboratory walls. We offer high-value scientific roles that retain Delaware’s top scientists and attract talent from around the world. Through ongoing investment in advanced equipment and facility expansions, we’re building infrastructure that supports long-term innovation. We also collaborate with local schools and universities to help develop the next generation of technical professionals — strengthening Delaware’s position in the Mid-Atlantic life sciences corridor.

FROM LOCAL ROOTS TO GLOBAL IMPACT

We complement our Delaware base with operations in Ireland, enabling global coordination while keeping Delaware as our anchor. The state’s proximity to major pharmaceutical hubs in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland makes it an ideal location for serving the industry’s leading companies. From our Delaware facilities, we support drug discovery and development programs that ultimately benefit patients worldwide — with breakthrough anti-infectives, cancer and rare disease therapies, and biomaterials.

Our geographical proximity facilitates timely, face-to-face decisionmaking when projects require rapid iteration. As Delaware continues to build its reputation as a life sciences hub, we serve as both a catalyst and an important component of sustained growth in this high-value industry.

A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR DELAWARE

With advanced chemistry, a highly skilled workforce, and deep community engagement, Adesis is helping to shape Delaware’s bright future — a knowledge-driven economy built on meaningful careers, global partnerships, and solutions that benefit the world.

Scott Knorr is the president and general manager of Adesis.