Pharmaceutical Business review

Cambrex to buy Halo Pharma for $425m

The acquisition will allow Cambrex to enter the dosage form CDMO market.

Halo Pharma is majority owned by funds managed by the private investment firm SK Capital Partners.

The company offers drug product development and commercial manufacturing services with expertise in oral solids, liquids, creams, sterile and non-sterile ointments.

The firm’s core competencies include development and manufacture of complex and difficult to produce formulations, products for pediatric indications and controlled substances.

Halo Pharma CEO Lee Karras said: “We are very excited to be joining the Cambrex team and look forward to growing the combined company together and providing our customers the expansion of services this creates.”

Halo Pharma is specialized in the areas of tech transfer, process and product development, production, scale-up/validation and analytical method development.

The company has two GMP compliant facilities situated in Whippany of New Jersey in the US and Montreal of Québec in Canada.

Featuring 430,000ft² of space, both facilities have regulatory approvals from the US FDA, EMEA, DEA and Health Canada.

Expected to generate more than $100m in annual revenue in the current fiscal year, Halo is presently involved in more than 100 product development projects for over 70 customers.

As per terms of the deal, Halo’s 450 employees will work Cambrex’s 1,200 employees across the US and Europe.

Subject to customary closing conditions, the deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year.

Cambrex president and CEO Steve Klosk said: “This acquisition opens a completely new segment of the market for Cambrex in finished dose development and manufacturing. Halo’s expertise in oral solids, liquids, creams and ointments fits well with our small molecule API business and brings a substantial new customer base and pipeline of small molecule products.”

Cambrex provides products, services and technologies to advance the development and commercialization of small molecule therapeutics.

The company offers active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), advanced intermediates and enhanced drug delivery products for branded and generic pharmaceuticals.