Under the terms of the deal, Sterling will make a “significant” investment in ADC will a view to acquiring the company in quarter one 2021, subject to due diligence.

The businesses will work together to develop an integrated service offering for existing and potential customers, which combines ADC Bio’s expertise with Sterling’s high-potency small molecule knowhow.

Sterling’s CEO Kevin Cook said he hoped the partnership’s “combined expertise and targeted investment will be a strong competitive force in the race to find the latest generation of drugs in the oncology area.”

The deal follows Sterling’s purchase in September of a second US development and manufacturing facility in Germantown, Wisconsin, USA, from CDMO Alcami. The new facility bolsters the UK-headquartered CDMO’s presence in the US and provides additional capacity for customer API development and manufacturing projects, especially those with complex and hazardous requirements.

The Germantown facility houses state-of-the-art cGMP development, scale-up and manufacturing facilities, with specialist expertise in handling technologies including plant-scale hydrogenation and cryogenic reactions.

Cook said the US market continues to be a key growth area for Sterling.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist