PRWT acquires Merck API manufacturing facility
Cherokee Pharmaceuticals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based PRWT Services, has acquired the Cherokee chemical manufacturing plant in Riverside, Philadelphia, from Merck & Co.
Cherokee Pharmaceuticals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based PRWT Services, has acquired the Cherokee chemical manufacturing plant in Riverside, Philadelphia, from Merck & Co.
Cherokee has also entered into a five-year supply agreement with Merck worth an estimated US$100-200m (Euro 68-136m) annually.
The Cherokee plant is a state-of-the-art API manufacturing facility of products/antibiotics for humans and animals. All 400 employees working at the plant are expected to transfer their employment from Merck to PRWT. PRWT also intends to make considerable capital investments in the Cherokee plant to support the growth of the business and increase the number of jobs available.
The sale of the site is part of Merck's global restructuring of its manufacturing operations announced in November 2005 to create a global manufacturing network better aligned to Merck's current and anticipated future product demand.
"The acquisition is consistent with PRWT's vision of growing the company by expanding into new markets, services, and lines of business," said Willie F. Johnson, chairman and ceo of PRWT. "By establishing a presence in the life sciences market, PRWT can now participate in an industry with tremendous growth potential and establish a strategic supplier relationship with Merck."