German CDMO Rentschler expands biologics capacity with deal for Shire site

Shire started looking for a buyer for a small biologics manufacturing site in Massachusetts shortly after its buyout of Baxalta two years ago. It has finally made a deal.

German CDMO Rentschler Biopharma, which focuses on biologics development and manufacturing, says it has an agreement to buy the former Baxalta manufacturing site in Milford, Massachusetts.

The 100,000-square-foot facility reportedly has about 100 employees. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The family-owned Rentschler, which currently has about 850 workers, said it will continue to manufacture products for Shire after the deal closes.

Rentschler, which is looking to expand globally, two years ago added a new facility to its site in Laupheim, Germany, to expand its  capacity, saying it recognized the growing demand for biologics. It invested about  €24 million to add two 3,000-liter stainless steel bioreactors, more than doubling its capacity, and had plans to add 200 jobs.

The sale by Shire comes just after Japan’s Takeda announced it is buying the rare disease drug maker for $58 billion, a deal that is expected to result in more consolidation as Takeda looks for extra cash flow to pay for the deal.