CDMO Cambrex snatches Halo Pharma, getting 2 plants and 425 employees

There is more M&A action in the CDMO arena this week as New Jersey-based Cambrex has struck a deal to buy Halo Pharma, picking up two manufacturing facilities in the process.

Cambrex Monday said it has agreed to pay $425 million to buy the dosage-form CDMO from SK Capital, a firm with a number of CDMO holdings.

"Halo’s expertise in oral solids, liquids, creams and ointments fits well with our small molecule API business and brings a substantial new customer base and pipeline of small molecule products," Steve Klosk, Cambrex CEO said in a statement.

Halo operates manufacturing sites in Whippany, New Jersey, and Montreal, Québec, Canada, comprising a total of 430,000 square feet of plant space. Its 450-person workforce will join Cambrex’s 1,200 employees across the United States and Europe. Cambrex said Halo is expected to generate more than $100 million in annual revenue in 2018.

SK Capital has been in the midst of a lot of consolidation in the CDMO market. A year ago Perrigo sold off its active pharmaceutical business to the investment group for $110 million.

Other deals include the recent June deal by France’s Novacap to buy Boston-area-based CDMO PCI Synthesis. Also in June, Sweden’s Recipharm struck a $60.2 million deal with Sanofi to buy the French drugmaker’s contract inhalation drug business and plant in the U.K.