Porton Fine Chemicals, a Chongqing, China-headquartered contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has entered into a stock purchase agreement through its wholly owned subsidiary, Porton USA, with the shareholders of J-STAR Research, a contract chemistry organization based in South Plainfield, New Jersey, to acquire J-STAR for $26 million in cash. The closing is expected to take place within 60 days of the acquisition announcement date on January 25, 2017.

With the acquisition, Porton, which supplies custom drug intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), expands the reach of its CDMO business. J-STAR offers services to support early-phase clinical development of small-molecule APIs, with core business covering custom synthesis, process research, crystallization research and development, and analytical services. The J-STAR staff, including the current management, will stay on board in their current capacities after the acquisition closes.

Source: Porton Fine Chemicals and J-STAR Research