Evotec offloads chemical API facility as part of its ongoing austerity program

After unveiling a corporate austerity program earlier this year, Germany's Evotec is selling off a piece of its CDMO business. 

Under its “Priority Reset” program, Evotec has agreed to sell its chemical API production facility in Halle/Westphalia, Germany, to Munich-based private equity firm Monacum Partners.

Financial details of the sale weren’t disclosed.

The CDMO facility, which operated under the name Evotec DS, focuses on chemical APIs, intermediates and other materials that form an end-to-end service portfolio, the company said in a Nov. 5 press release.

“The transaction presents an opportunity for Evotec DS to achieve its growth ambitions under new ownership,” the company said in a statement. “Under the agreement, all business operations and the entire workforce at Evotec DS will transition to Monacum Partners and continue business as DAPIN GmbH (Deutsche API & Intermediates).

The sale is part of the German biotech’s corporate restructure that surfaced last April when interim CEO Mario Polywka said the main focus for Evotec in 2024 was “to protect our strong balance sheet and refocus the company on profitable growth.”

In May, Evotec exited the gene therapy space when it closed its facility in Orth an Der Danau, Austria, which operated under the Evotec Gene Therapy moniker. In all, the company’s new CEO Christian Wojczewski, Ph.D., said in August the company was looking to shed 400 jobs as it battles to regain profitability in a market that has seen a slowdown of early stage R&D spending.

Evotec employed 5,022 workers at the end of June, with the layoffs representing about 8% of its workforce.