Sector News

Roche unloads another plant in Recipharm deal; saves 200 jobs

September 21, 2017
Life sciences

Roche, which has been trying for two years to offload four small-molecule manufacturing plants around the world, will sell one in Spain to Recipharm in a deal that will save another 200 jobs.

As part of the arrangement to take over the plant in Leganés, Spain near Madrid, the Swedish CDMO has won a long-term manufacturing agreement to supply Roche with a number of solid dose products, a provision the Swiss drugmaker has used to find buyers for two other plants.

No financial terms were offered, but Recipharm said the plant will add €35 million (about $42 million) annually to its revenues. The CDMO, which agreed to keep 200 workers at the facility, said it will be able to coordinate work with a plant it already has in Parets near Barcelona, and the deal will allow it to realize “optimization opportunities” with Recipharm’s solids manufacturing network.

This is the third of four plants that Roche has sold since announcing in November 2015 that it would close facilities and eliminate 1,200 jobs in cost-cutting measures, even as it shifted more production toward manufacturing targeted drugs. Roche also has found buyers for plants in the U.S. and Segrate, Italy. Only a facility in Clarecastle, Ireland has been shuttered after a buyer couldn’t be found.

When the company announced it was changing the trajectory of its manufacturing investments, Roche said it would spend about $300 million to build a new plant to manufacture targeted, high-potency small-molecule drugs at its massive site in Kaiseraugst near its Basel, Switzerland where it has about 10,400 employees.

Last year, Patheon took over an API plant in Florence, South Carolina, again saving 200 jobs and winning a supply agreement from Roche.

Earlier this month, Roche said it had completed the sale of a solid and liquid formulation facility in Segrate, to French CMO Delpharm, which also reached a deal to supply the Swiss pharma giant with products produced at the plant and agreed to keep an unspecified number of jobs.

By Eric Palmer

Source: Fierce Pharma

comments closed

Related News

December 3, 2023

FDA names chief scientist Bumpus as Woodcock’s successor

Life sciences

The Food and Drug Administration’s top scientist Namandjé Bumpus will assume the role of principal deputy commissioner when longtime agency leader Janet Woodcock retires from that role in early 2024, according to an announcement Thursday.

December 3, 2023

AbbVie to buy cancer drug maker ImmunoGen for $10.1 Billion

Life sciences

US biopharma AbbVie has agreed to acquire ImmunoGen in a deal which values the company at about $10.1 billion and gives AbbVie access to flagship cancer therapy Elahere (mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx), a first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) approved for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC), as well as a pipeline of promising next-generation ADCs.

December 3, 2023

EuroAPI appoints new Executive Committee members

Life sciences

EUROAPI today announced the appointment of David Seignolle as Chief Operating Officer, succeeding Eric Berger, and Marion Santin as Chief Legal, Compliance, and IP Officer, both joining the company’s Executive Committee. In his new role, David Seignolle will lead the transformation of the Industrial Operations organization.

How can we help you?

We're easy to reach