Amgen, which has been beefing up its U.S. manufacturing operations, sold its stake in Turkey’s oldest pharmaceutical company Gensenta to the Eczacıbaşı Group for $135 million.
Gensenta was founded as a lab in 1923 and incorporated as Mustafa Nevzat Pharmaceuticals in 1957. Amgen acquired the company in 2012 and renamed it Gensenta in 2020. The company has two manufacturing facilities located in Yenibosna, Turkey, and Istanbul that produce finished dosage forms, antibiotics, cancer treatments and other drugs.
The sale is pending approval from the Turkish Competition Authority. Amgen Turkey will continue to operate and serve patients in the country, the company said.
“This acquisition fuels our growth by adding local production capabilities in pharmaceuticals, biosimilar products, and active ingredients to our investment portfolio as well as export competency,” Bülent Eczacıbaşı, chairman of Eczacıbaşı Holding, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, California-based Amgen has pledged $1 billion to grow its manufacturing capabilities, with most of that targeted in the U.S. A year ago, the company said it would pump $365 million into a packaging facility in New Albany, Ohio, that is scheduled to come online in 2024 and create about 400 new jobs.
In March, the company broke ground on a $550 million drug substance manufacturing facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina. The project is expected to be operating in 2024 and will employ about 335 people.