CDMO Almac continues its expansion momentum with lab deal

CDMO Almac, which recently expanded its analytical services operations at its headquarters in Northern Ireland, has added to those capabilities with the acquisition of a privately held drug testing and analytical services company.

The drugmaker Wednesday said it acquired BioClin Laboratories which is based in Athlone, Ireland, just two hours away from Almac Group’s headquarters in Craigavon.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed but a spokesperson said it involved “multi-million pounds.” All of BioClin’s employees will join Almac’s workforce of 600, John Robson, Almac’s VP of quality operations, said in an email.  

Almac said that BioClin’s expertise and 14,000-square-foot facility significantly increases its analytical capacity and capabilities.  It has already invested $6.3 million (£5 million) to build an additional laboratory and office facility at its headquarters.

RELATED: Almac lays out $34M for expansions, adding 312 jobs

The deal was announced a few days after its also said it would invest multimillions of pounds in the expansion of its Arran Chemical Company, the Athlone-based chemical company it acquired in 2015. The expansion will substantially increase its capacity to produce fine chemicals, pharmaceutical intermediates and other products.

The company last year laid out plans for additions to several facilities, including a $25 million (£20 million) investment to expand its 240,000-square-foot offices at its U.S. headquarters in Souderton, Pennsylvania, and to lease a 26,000-square-foot office space in nearby Lansdale. Those projects added 312 jobs in the U.S.