With one foot already in the healthcare realm, multi-industry manufacturer Jabil is beefing up its biopharma bona fides with a transaction set to propel the company into the CDMO market.
Jabil on Tuesday revealed that it has purchased Hunt Valley, Maryland-based contract development and manufacturing organization Pharmaceutics International Inc. (Pii) for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which closed Monday, immediately arms Jabil with contracting firepower in aseptic filling and freeze-drying services as well as oral solid dose production across multiple stages of product development.
With Pii now under its wing, Jabil welcomes roughly 300 new staffers and gains access to more than 360,000 square feet of manufacturing space spread across Pii’s four sites at its campus in Hunt Valley.
Pii’s setup houses more than 70 manufacturing rooms, including containment suites for high-potency compounds and hormones, according to the press release. The CDMO’s campus also boasts production suites for oral solids and an aseptic facility for injectables as well as a formulation development center and various laboratories.
With the sale, Pii expects to reap the benefits of Jabil’s global footprint and infrastructure. The contractor will also be able to tap into Jabil’s suite of automation tech and enjoy improved supply chain efficiencies under its new parent.
“We look forward to leveraging Jabil’s extensive expertise to accelerate our mission of delivering best-in-class drug development and manufacturing solutions to our customers and ultimately the patients we serve,” John Fowler, president and CEO at Pii, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Jabil’s vice president of pharmaceutical solutions, James O’Gorman, noted that the wedding of the two companies should foster “business growth potential as we enter the CDMO market.”
Jabil—which holds claim to more than 50 million square feet of manufacturing space across 30 countries—has spent more than half a century building out its global footprint. The company offers production, engineering and supply chain services to businesses in a wide array of fields, from commercial drones and the defense industry to packaged goods and healthcare.
In healthcare, Jabil says on its website that it’s engaged in markets for medical devices, diagnostics, pharmaceutical delivery systems, consumer health products and orthopedics.
The Pii acquisition is specifically slated to bolster Jabil’s pharmaceutical solutions division, which already chips in on the development and commercial manufacturing of delivery devices like on-body pumps, inhalers, auto-injectors and injection pens.