Private equity firm Atorg has agreed to acquire CDMO CordenPharma from International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG), subject to customary regulatory approvals. The founders, Patrick Schnitzer and Dr Achim Riemann, will also reinvest in the firm and CEO Michael Quirmbach remains in place.

According to the German business newspaper Handelsblatt, the International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) intends to sell CordenPharma. A valuation of around €3 billion has been cited. ICIG has, the paper said, has already had meetings with potential buyers and will send out information packs to them by the end January. Neither ICIG nor CordenPharma has made any comment.

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 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.

CordenPharma has announced the approval of a long-term expansion initiative “to further increase our flexibility, efficiency and ultimately, cost-effective production” at its solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) in Boulder, Colorado. This follows the installation of an extra-large 3,000L SPPS vessel at the site earlier this year in response to growing demand for peptide APIs.

CordenPharma is to expand non-GMP solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) capacity at its centre of excellence for peptide process development and non-GMP manufacturing at Frankfurt, Germany. This should be complete in Q3 2021. The amount invested has not been disclosed.

The investment will increase lab space by 25% and add a dedicated explosionproof area. The latter will be supported by a tank farm, which, the company said, “will allow for the introduction of regular solvents, as well as compatibility with our green peptide manufacturing”.

The ongoing race to develop the first effective vaccines for the treatment of COVID-19 continues to generate manufacturing and development agreements between pharmaceutical giants, biotechs and CDMOs.

Most recently, Sterling Pharma Solutions agreed to carry out final purification of drug product for Moleculin Biotech’s WP1122 drug candidate from its site in Cary, North Carolina. Moleculin is about to submit an IND for this to the FDA and wanted a reliable source of supply in the US.