Piramal, Catalent, Metrics Contract Services, Aphena Expand
The latest from CDMOs, CMOs, and suppliers featuring Piramal Pharma Solutions, Catalent, Metrics Contract Services, Aphena, Vetter, and BioLife.
Biologics Manufacturing
BioLife Solutions To Acquire SciSafe for $30 M
BioLife Solutions, a Bothell, Washington-based supplier of cell and gene therapy bioproduction tools and services, has agreed to acquire SciSafe, a Cranbury, New Jersey-based provider of biological materials storage to the cell and gene therapy and pharmaceutical industries, for $30 million.
Under the agreement, BioLife will pay $15 million in cash and $15 million in newly issued shares of BioLife common stock for 100% of the outstanding shares of SciSafe. SciSafe’s shareholders are also eligible over the next four years to receive up to 626,000 additional shares of BioLife common stock based on the achievement of annual revenue milestones.
SciSafe had 2019 unaudited revenue of $6 million. It has four facilities located in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Utah,
The transaction is expected to close later this month (September 2020).
Source: BioLife Solutions
Formulation Development/Drug-Product Manufacturing
Piramal Pharma Solutions Opens Drug-Product Facility
Piramal Pharma Solutions, a CDMO of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and drug products, has opened a recently acquired solid oral dosage drug-product manufacturing facility in Sellersville, Pennsylvania.
This site adds North American capability in product and process development, manufacturing, and packaging of solid oral dosage forms, liquids, creams, and ointments.
Piramal acquired the facility from G&W Laboratories, a South Plainfield, New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company.
Source: Piramal Pharma Solutions
Catalent Acquires Facility To Create Center of Excellence
Catalent has acquired a 23,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Bloomington, Indiana to create a North American center of excellence for early-phase clinical biologics formulation development and drug product fill–finish services. Catalent acquired the facility from AB BioTechnologies, a Bloomington, Indiana-CDMO.
Catalent is investing $14 million in the facility, which includes the acquisition of the facility, build-out, and qualification of the facility to begin supporting customer programs starting in January 2021.
The facility has an aseptic flexible filling line capable of filling liquid and lyophilized vials, syringes, or cartridges under barrier isolator technology. The facility also has formulation development capabilities, quality control laboratories, and controlled-temperature storage for biologic and sterile products. The site will be integrated with Catalent Biologics’ main Bloomington facility located nearby, where the company recently announced a $50-million investment to install an additional high-speed vial filling line.
The new center of excellence for clinical biologics formulation development and drug product fill–finish services follows a recent announcement of $30 million at its European Center of Excellence in Limoges, France.
Source: Catalent
Metrics Begins Construction of $10-M Solid-Dosage Facility Expansion
Metrics Contract Services has begun construction to expand its oral solid dosage manufacturing facility in Greenville, North Carolina, which represents a $10-million investment.
The expansion will add 3,760 square feet of production space to the current facility with the addition of three new rooms: (1) one dispensing/flex room; (2) one tablet press room; and (3) one flex room. The investment also includes new equipment, including a Fette FE55 tablet press and a Bosch 720 encapsulator, which both offer containment services for the handling of potent products, and also a weigh and dispense isolator.
The expansion has been in development over the last six months and is expected to be complete and fully operational by February 2021.
Source: Metrics Contract Services
Packaging
Aphena Invests $21 M To Expand Packaging and Distribution
Aphena Pharma Solutions, a provider of contract packaging and manufacturing services, is investing $21 million for the acquisition a 500,000-square-foot property in Cookeville, Tennessee to expand its packaging and distribution operations.
Aphena has already begun renovation to transform the property into a pharmaceutical packaging and distribution facility. The acquisition will add 258,000 square feet to Aphena’s current Cookeville footprint, representing the company’s expansion into biologics, cold-chain storage, and third-party logistics distribution. The renovations will be completed by February 2021. The site will also house Aphena’s corporate headquarters.
The expansion will allow Aphena to install 24 high-speed bottling lines and eight thermoform blister packaging lines. In addition, the 200,000-plus square feet of warehouse space provides a foundation for a new, third-party logistics program.
Source: Aphena Pharma Solutions
Vetter Invests $4 M in New Training Center
Vetter, a CDMO of aseptic filling and packaging, has invested EUR 3.5 million ($4 million) to open a new training site. This month (September 2020), 39 new trainees and students started learning and working at the site, called the Vetter Training Center.
The building, which has been converted for trainees and students, houses various workshops for building technical skills and learning about innovative methods such as 3D printing and computer-aided 3D construction. An electrical workshop and a robotics work area round off the range of learning areas.
Source: Vetter
