Evonik is to purchase the business and assets of Transferra Nanosciences, a biotechnology company based in Burnaby, Vancouver, Canada for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to close at the end of July.
Transferra, formerly known as Northern Lipids, is a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) that provides services and products to biotechnology companies developing pharmaceutical products, using the firm’s liposomal drug delivery systems.
Evonik said the acquisition would expand its Business Line Heath Care portfolio, particularly its parenteral drug delivery technologies and services.
'This transaction reflects our continued commitment to growth in the health care area and in the drug delivery space in particular,' said Reiner Beste, Chairman of the Board of Management of Evonik Nutrition & Care.
Transferra's services include prototype identification, scale-up and process development, analytical support and qualification of methods, production of test articles for toxicology studies and cGMP manufacturing of clinical trial materials. The firm also offers benchtop Lipex extruders, as well as custom-built machines for large scale manufacture of commercial drug products.
This transaction reflects our continued commitment to growth in the health care area and in the drug delivery space in particular
Evonik Health Care says it has recently developed into a leading provider of formulation development and GMP manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical industry for advanced parenteral drug depot formulations, building on the acquisition of the Resomer portfolio of bioresorbable polymers and Surmodics Pharmaceuticals in Birmingham, Alabama, US.
'Transferra is delighted to become a part of the Evonik group and is looking forward to bringing together two complementary sets of assets and capabilities in advanced parenteral technologies. The combined expertise in biopolymer microparticles and liposomal nanoparticles will significantly contribute to the development of innovative medicines,' said Don Enns, President and CEO of Transferra.
'The combination of the drug delivery businesses of Transferra and Evonik will form a leading service provider providing a full array of services, ranging from prototype identification to commercial manufacturing,' said Jean-Luc Herbeaux, Head of the Health Care Business Line at Evonik.
'We can now support our customers in the most important areas of complex injectable drug formulation technologies to the benefit of our customers and the patients alike,' he added.