Global pharma giant Mylan shelled out $9.4 million for Ascendis Health’s South African manufacturing plant that is focused on producing antiretrovirals to combat HIV.
The deal was first reported last month in South Africa. Mylan is expected to create a state-of-the-art manufacturing center at the plant located at Isando in Johannesburg for the production of antiretrovirals, Fin24 reported.
Ascendis’ chief executive, Thomas Thomsen, told the publication that the company decided to let the roughly 90,000-square-foot facility go due to its low utilization and to reduce the complexity of Ascendis’ pharma operations in South Africa.
Ascendis assumed ownership of the plant in 2015 as part of its $24.6 million deal to acquire Akacia Healthcare. The facility has the capacity to produce regular pills, effervescent tablets, semisolid and hard gelatin capsules.
“Mylan has invested significantly in its scientific platform and created broad capacity for global ARV supply,” Rajiv Malik, Mylan’s president, told Creamer Media’s Engineering News, adding that Mylan’s global HIV initiative is one of its key priorities.
“Mylan’s innovations have helped fuel a steep decline in ARV drug costs over the last decade, and the integration of the Isando site into our global manufacturing network will help us meet unmet patient needs in South Africa,” he said.