CDMO Sterling Pharma Solutions has completed its acquisition of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility in Ringaskiddy, Ireland, from Novartis, in a deal that was initially announced in March 2022.
The facility will provide additional capacity for Sterling’s growing API manufacturing services, and the deal includes an on-going supply agreement with Novartis to continue to manufacture a number of APIs for cardiovascular, immunology and oncology medicines at Ringaskiddy. No financial details of the deal have been disclosed.
The 111-acre site, located near Cork, includes multiple commercial-scale production buildings, with a total vessel capacity of 175 cubic metres across over 30 reactor trains, as well as a small-scale facility, and a development and support building housing 14 development and analytical laboratories. 350 staff at the site have now transferred to Sterling’s employment.
The Ringaskiddy site has clear synergies with Sterling’s other manufacturing facilities, and we have spent the last nine months working closely with staff
Equipped to undertake a wide range of chemical reactions, including the handling of highly potent APIs, down to an Occupational Exposure Level (OEL) of 200 ng/cubic metre, technologies also include large-scale chromatography columns, solid phase and agitated vessels for peptide coupling and synthesis, as well as various milling and micronisation equipment for drug substance processing.
Sterling plans to invest in the Ringaskiddy facility to grow its contract development and manufacturing pipeline, bringing additional jobs to the site over the coming years.
“The Ringaskiddy site has clear synergies with Sterling’s other manufacturing facilities, and we have spent the last nine months working closely with staff to ensure a smooth integration into our global network to provide small molecule API development and manufacturing services for customers across the world in a range of therapeutic areas,” said Kevin Cook, Sterling’s Chief Executive Officer. “Strategically, the acquisition adds a European hub to our network, and not only expands our total capacity and workforce of highly skilled experts, but adds new capabilities in peptide manufacturing and large-scale chromatography.”
The acquisition is part of Sterling’s on-going business strategy, which has seen the company grow from a business in 2020 with 300 employees across two sites, to 1,300 employees based across five facilities in the UK, US and Europe.