India-based CDMO Piramal Pharma has taken a 27.78% equity stake in Yapan Bio of Hyderabad, which provides process development, scale-up and cGMP manufacturing of vaccines and biologics/bio-therapeutics of all kinds, including recombinant and RNA/DNA vaccines, gene therapies and monoclonal antibodies.

Johnson Matthey (JM) has agreed to sell the majority of its Health business to Altaris Capital Partners, an investment firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry, for £325 million enterprise value, or 9.8 x EBITDA in the 12 months to 30 September 2021. Completion is anticipated in mid-2022, subject to regulatory approvals.

CDMO CordenPharma has acquired the finished drug product manufacturing business of Vifor Pharma Group, which is refocusing its manufacturing on nephrology and iron deficiency. This comprises sites at Fribourg and Ettingen in Switzerland, and Lisbon, Portugal. Terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in Q1 2022.

CDMO Seqens has confirmed that its planned change of ownership has been completed, with SK Capital, a private investment firm focused on the specialty materials, chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors, becoming the majority shareholder.

Ascensus Specialties, a provider of speciality materials for life sciences and advanced technology, has followed up on previous acquisitions by buying fine chemicals manufacturer Wychem from private equity firm Aurelius, which had acquired it in 2016. The company employs 25 people at its site in the UK.

CDMO CordenPharma is planning to invest heavily in all its platforms in terms of both capacities and capabilities, according to Dr Stephen Houldsworth, global head of platform management and marketing, who spoke with SCM at CPhI Worldwide in Milan.

CDMO Sterling Pharma Solutions has announced what it called the next phase of a multi-year investment strategy at its site in Dudley, UK. It will spend £10 million by mid-2022 on new process development laboratories and commercial-scale manufacturing equipment to meet growth in demand for small molecule API manufacturing.