Under the terms of the agreement, Catalent will acquire Acorda’s 90,000 square foot cGMP facility in Chelsea, Massachusetts, USA, which comprises several powder spray dryers that include GEA Niro, PSD-1, PSD-4 and PSD-7 units, the latter regarded as the largest of its kind in North America. Catalent said these units will give it significant commercial-scale capacity for new customer programs.

In addition, the Chelsea facility will act as a global center of excellence within Catalent’s network for spray-dried dispersion and dry powder encapsulation and packaging. It will also complement and provide downstream capabilities to Catalent’s inhalation development facility in Morrisville, part of the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina.

“This acquisition complements our existing US-based capabilities in metered-dose and nasal inhalation by adding an experienced team of people and a premier facility enabling us to provide customers with extended capabilities for commercial-scale filling and packaging of dry powder inhalers,” said Jonathan Arnold, president of oral and specialty delivery at Catalent.

The companies have also entered into a long-term supply agreement under which Acorda will continue to make its prescription medicine Inbrija (levodopa inhalation powder) at Chelsea. Inbrija is used to relieve hypomobility in adults with Parkinson’s disease treated with regular carbidopa/levodopa medicine.

Sale of blow-fill-seal business to private equity

In separate news, Catalent Pharma Solutions has signed a deal to sell its Blow-Fill-Seal (BFS) sterile contract development and manufacturing business to funds advised by private investment firm SK Capital Partners.

The business operates out of a single site in Woodstock, Illinois, focusing on complex clinical to commercial formulation and manufacturing. It handles complex chemistries such as small molecules, biologics, macromolecules and potent compounds.

“Divesting our BFS manufacturing business will allow us to concentrate on our growing core activities of developing oral, inhaled and biologic drugs with customers, as well as rapidly extending our technological portfolio of new, emerging modalities, including cell and gene therapies,” Arnold commented.

The divested business will operate as a new independent company after the transaction completes, which is expected in April 2021.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist