Outsourcing: 2017 in Review

06. January 2018

In a productive year, 2017 was filled with acquisitions, facility expansions, and new biopharma technology.

Outsourcing in the bio/pharmaceutical industry had a productive 2017. A flurry of acquisitions, an expansion of biotechnology needs, and a growth in new facilities and services offered were seen. The following are some of the highlights.

Mergers and acquisitions

Acquisitions were robust in 2017, with more than 25 companies making moves to gain new facilities and services. The following are some of the notable mergers and acquisitions of 2017.

Recipharm completed the acquisition of Kemwell’s pharmaceutical businesses located in Bengaluru, India in February 2017. As part of the transaction, Recipharm also has a right of first negotiation to acquire Kemwell’s Indian biopharma business, which was not included in the transaction and will continue to be retained by the sellers.

The acquired business, Recipharm Pharmaservices Private Ltd, offers development services and commercial manufacturing of solid, semi-solid, liquid, and topical products. The development business provides formulation development, small-scale manufacturing for clinical trials, and analytical services (1).

In April 2017, Sartorius Stedim Biotech (SSB) acquired Umetrics, a specialized provider of data analytics software for development and manufacturing processes headquartered in Malmö, Sweden. SSB has been a cooperation partner of Umetrics since the end of 2012, distributing and co-marketing their software to players in the biopharmaceutical industry. Umetrics’ software has applications in critical process steps of biopharmaceutical manufacture and development, including cell culture processes and specific purification steps (2).

Lonza announced in August 2017 that it acquired Micro-Macinazione (Switzerland), a contract manufacturer providing micronization of active ingredients for the pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries, from Cross Equity, a Swiss private equity firm. The acquisition boosts Lonza’s micronization services at its existing micronization clinical and commercial manufacturing site in Quakertown, PA, which Lonza gained through its previous US$5.5-billion acquisition of Capsugel (US) in early July 2017 (3).

In September 2017, Roquette completed its acquisition of Itacel, an excipient division of Blanver, a Brazilian multinational company specializing in the development, manufacture, and commercialization of raw materials and drugs. The acquisition is part of a series of investments made by Roquette to position itself globally, according to the company (4).

PCI Pharma Services (PCI) acquired Millmount Healthcare, a pharmaceutical and healthcare contract packaging services provider, in October. Millmount provides services in blister packaging, bottling, and tub filling, as well as in late-stage customization and cold chain packaging services. The acquisition supports PCI’s efforts to expand its clinical trial service offerings. The addition of Millmount, based near Dublin, Ireland, will be PCI’s fourth acquisition outside of the United States in four years (5).

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