AMRI Becomes Curia, Makes Acquisition
Only a day after announcing it was changing its name to Curia, the US CDMO known up to now as AMRI announced a “definitive agreement” to acquire Integrity Bio, a privately held biologics formulation and fill & finish organization headquartered in Camarillo, California.
Neither financial terms nor further details were announced for the deal that will give the newly minted Curia a berth on the US west coast to complement its East Coast and European presence. The company said it expects the sale to close in the third quarter.
Integrity Bio is an expert in hard-to-formulate biologics and fill & finish for Phase 1/2 clinical trials, including proteins, antibodies, lipid nanoparticles, peptides and vaccines in liquid and lyophilized form. The company’s biologics capabilities are said to complement those of Curia’ existing business.
In September, Integrity, which specializes in integrated solutions for small molecule drugs from formulation development, announced the validation of its second fill & finish line.
The former AMRI last year signed a fill & finish deal for AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine and is carrying out that work at its Albuquerque, New Mexico, plant, one of three it operates alongside facilities in the US state of Massachusetts and Glasgow, Scotland.
Name change and new brand identity
Along with the name change, the company is introducing a new brand identity including a new website, CuriaGlobal.com. The new name ”reflects the assembled deep expertise of our people, the breadth of our products, services and solutions, and our relentless determination to help customers advance from curiosity to cure,” said Curia chairman and CEO John Ratliff.
The CDMO recently celebrated three decades of growth since its founding in Albany, New York, and today with 3,100 employees in 21 worldwide locations, including more than 600 chemists, 70 biologists, 225 senior scientists and some 400 quality and regulatory specialists, it can boasts a global suite of R&D and commercial manufacturing capabilities.
The new Curia said its “ongoing commitment to science that scales” is demonstrated by its 564 active patents and its production of more than 20 treatments included on the list of essential medicines from the World Health Organization.
Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist
