Following negotiations begun in September 2021, PharmaZell, a German-based supplier of speciality APIs, and Novasep, a CDMO focused on complex small molecules and ADCs, have closed their merger under the majority ownership of Bridgepoint Group. Former PharmaZell CEO Dr Sylke Hassel (pictured) will be CEO, while former Novasep CEO Michel Spagnol has joined the board of directors.
Novasep has signed a letter of intent to supply the API for Pfizer’s Paxlovid, an oral protease inhibitor against COVID-19 that has shown a positive impact in clinical trials on hospitalisation among at-risk patients Technical transfer, on-site development and equipment installation activities have begun already at the Mourenx facility in France, which is expected to be incorporated into the supply chain by Q3.
PharmaZell, a German-based producer of speciality APIs, and France’s CDMO Groupe Novasep are to merge under the ownership of PharmaZell’s current majority shareholder, private equity firm Bridgepoint. This remains subject to consultation with employees and other closing conditions.
Novasep has announced a €6.1 million investment to modernise API manufacturing at its site in Mourenx, south-west France. This followed on shortly after a €4 million investment had been announced at its main HPAPIs site at Le Mans.
Via the former investment, Novasep will install new equipment and revamp clean rooms for API isolation at Mourenx, creating seven new jobs. The company said that this will “enhance Novasep’s flexibility and develop a high-performance capacity for the custom manufacturing of innovative therapeutic molecules”.
CDMOs Sterling Pharma Solutions and Novasep have both made announcements in the high potency arena in the past week. The former has signed a manufacturing deal with oncology specialist OncoTex, while the latter is expanding its main high potency API (HPAPI) site at Le Mans.
French-based CDMO Novasep has announced two sales. Henagen, its Belgium-based viral vectors operation, has been sold to Thermo Fisher Scientific for about €725 million, while, in a much smaller deal, it also intends to sell its chromatography equipment division to Sartorius Stedim Biotech.
Both Croda International and Novasep are involved in some of the vaccines nearing approval for use in the treatment of COVID-19 it has emerged. This follows on from many other announcements of development agreements involving other fine chemical companies earlier in the year.
