International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) has nabbed another operation to fold into its contract manufacturing arm Corden Pharma group. This time it is buying Peptisyntha, a Brussels, Belgium-based custom manufacturer of peptides for pharmaceuticals. It will become its third site offering this service.
Plankstadt, Germany-based ICIG is buying the operation from Solvay Group. The Brussels-based Solvay has decided to exit the life sciences field. Solvay will keep a sister business in the U.S.--Peptisyntha Inc.--in Torrance, CA, but the Brussels operation will assume some client services currently handled at that facility. The deal is slated to close in the fall. A price tag was not attached to the deal by ICIG, which is privately held.
The use of peptides in both oral and injectable drugs is a growing market. There are more than 40 peptide drugs approved for use in humans, including insulin, and more than 650 currently in clinical trials. At the same time, contract manufacturing is growing as some drugmakers turn to contract specialists for some services to avoid taking on the expense of plants and people.
ICIG has been on a buying binge. In December, it acquired plants in Calaire, France, and Farchemia, Italy, that make active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates from Tessenderlo Group. Those were facilities number 6 and 7 added to its manufacturing network in three years. In the past it has acquired operations cast off by AstraZeneca ($AZN), Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY), Genzyme and Roche ($RHHBY). Before the Peptisyntha deal, it said it has 19 manufacturing facilities across the U.S. and Europe.
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