Wacker Chemie, a chemical company based in Munich, purchased a Dutch biopharma manufacturing site and associated business from SynCo Bio Luxembourg for an undisclosed price.
Wacker said it plans to keep all of SynCo’s 110 employees. The plant operates a pair of fermentation lines with current capacities of 1,500 and 270 liters that manufacture microbial-derived biopharmaceuticals for clinical testing and the commercial market. There is also a line of single-use fermenters and a “fill and finish” facility.
“Expanding our production capacity strengthens our market position sustainably,” Gerhard Schmid, president of Wacker Biosolutions, said in a statement. “The additional fermentation lines double our current capacity, which increases our ability to produce key pharmaceuticals cost effectively, using advanced microbial techniques.”
Live microbial products are seen in the industry as a promising new class of actives that offer innovative therapies for serious illnesses and new vaccines.