Cambrex Corporation, a leading manufacturer of small molecule innovator and generic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), announced that it has agreed to acquire PharmaCore Inc., a privately-owned company specializing in developing, manufacturing and scaling up small molecule APIs for clinical phase projects, for approximately $25 million. PharmaCore was founded in 1999 and occupies a 35,000 sq. ft. GMP site in High Point, North Carolina, USA.
PharmaCore develops and produces complex APIs and intermediates requiring multi-step synthetic processes in batch sizes from milligrams to 100 kg to support clinical trials from Phase I to Phase III. The company is licensed with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to manufacture Schedule II to Schedule V controlled substances. PharmaCore has more than 60 full time employees, focused on projects at laboratory and pilot plant scale, with nearly 40 lab-based Process and Analytical Chemists, the majority of whom hold PhDs.
The acquisition will enhance Cambrex’s portfolio of small molecule API services and complements its existing large scale, multi-purpose manufacturing facilities in the US and Europe. PharmaCore is currently generating $15 to $17 million per year in revenues and just over two million dollars per year in EBITDA. Cambrex expects the transaction, net of deal fees, to have a neutral impact on earnings per share in 2016 and to be accretive in 2017.
“We are excited to announce our acquisition of PharmaCore, which we believe underlines our commitment to continually enhancing our service offering to our global pharmaceutical and biotech customers. The acquisition will provide the capability and expertise to efficiently develop early clinical phase products and new technologies. We expect PharmaCore’s substantial customer base and robust project pipeline to broaden our potential late stage clinical development and commercial manufacturing opportunities,” commented Steven Klosk, CEO of Cambrex.
He added, “Through the end of 2016, Cambrex will have invested over $200 million in capital projects within our existing facilities, including a recently completed $50 million production and warehousing expansion of our large scale US API facility in Charles City, Iowa, and a $9 million investment to expand large scale manufacturing capacity at our Karlskoga facility in Sweden, which we expect will be completed shortly.”
Rob Maddox, President of PharmaCore added, “PharmaCore is proud of the reputation we have developed, both as a trusted CMO and a company with a strong track record of innovative chemistry. We are thrilled to be joining Cambrex’s global network and to have the opportunity to participate in Cambrex’s growth strategy.”
PharmaCore’s NC facility has a 15,000 sq. ft. chemistry laboratory and a 13,000 sq. ft. pilot plant, with reactor capacity ranging from 20L to 2000L, with supporting GMP analytical services.
The completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to occur within 30 days. PharmaCore was advised on this transaction by Wombat Capital Markets, LLC.
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