Catalent sells New Jersey drug factory to Ardena

Diving certificate:

• Ardena, a Belgium-based pharmaceutical contract manufacturer, will acquire Catalent's facility in Somerset, New Jersey, according to a report Press release from October 14th.
• Ardena will use the 200-employee oral drug products facility to expand its bioanalytical services in the U.S. and expand its global footprint, the release said.
• The acquisition is expected to close in early 2025 and is subject to customary closing conditions. The transaction amount was not disclosed.

Insight into the dive:

According to the press release, the acquisition will strengthen Ardena's capabilities in late-stage and small-scale downstream production of oral medicines.

“By adding advanced technologies such as hot-melt extrusion, we not only enhance our solutions to improve bioavailability, but also complement our expertise in developing innovative nanomedical drug delivery systems,” CEO Jeremie Trochu said in a statement. “This investment accelerates our business scale and offerings to better serve our rapidly growing international customer base.”

Hot melt extrusion is one Pharmaceutical technology According to Catalent, it is used to improve solubility and produce oral medicines more quickly.

Ardena is also expanding in Europe, where the company already has offices in Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden, according to the press release. The CDMO will open a bioanalytical laboratory in Ardena's Pivot Park Facility in the Netherlands in the first quarter of 2025, along with the expansion of its bioanalytical competence center in Assen, Netherlands, to include capacity and new GLP capabilities.

The New Jersey location also serves as Catalent's corporate headquarters. The CDMO's main base will remain at the facility for now before moving to a new location at some point in the future, according to a Company press release. Catalent plans to announce the new headquarters at a later date.

As Catalent sells its Somerset plant, the drugmaker is investing in oral solids production elsewhere. Most recently, the company invested $475 million in 2022 to purchase its 333,000-square-foot facility in Greenville, North Carolina.

Catalent is in the middle of one Merger with Novo Holdings valued at $16.5 billionthe parent company of Novo Nordisk. The deal has faced some antitrust scrutiny from senators including Elizabeth Warren but is expected to close by the end of the year. The acquisition would give Novo access to three Catalent plants in Italy, Belgium and Indiana to expand production of its GLP-1 drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.