Sharp Acquires 25% Stake in Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing

Sharp, part of UDG Healthcare plc, has purchased a minority 25% ownership in Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing (BSM), extending the existing preferred partner agreement that has been in place between the two businesses since 2018.

BSM offers specialized isolator-based sterile filling of vials, syringes, cartridges and containers, as well as Lyophilization and terminal sterilization to small, medium and virtual pharma and biotech companies.

The agreement will allow Sharp’s Clinical division, via BSM, to offer sterile fill/finish and extend these services to Sharp Packaging’s existing rare and orphan therapy biotech customers where market demand is growing significantly.

“Starting in 2018, our partnership with BSM has been incredibly successful for both parties, bringing a significant number of new business leads to Sharp Clinical and enabling BSM to realize additional sales,” commented Frank Lis, president of Sharp Clinical Services. “Strengthening our relationship with a minority stake will be a great benefit to our respective clients as BSM’s capabilities are a natural extension of the existing services that Sharp offers.”

As part of the agreement Frank Lis and Kevin Orfan, president of Sharp will join the BSM board.

“Having Frank and Kevin join the BSM board as part of this deal will be greatly beneficial as the collaboration between our companies grows in the years to come,” added Shawn Kinney, CEO of Berkshire Sterile Manufacturing. “The agreement will also allow further collaboration in Quality, Project Management, IT, Logistics, Storage and Distribution and will enhance our respective integrated service offerings, reducing timelines and ultimately optimizing the client experience.”

The deal follows BSM’s announcement of a $20 million investment into expanding its filling capacity and capabilities. This expansion will double the company’s clean room and warehouse space, and bring an isolator-based robotic flexible sterile filling line. With this new line, BSM will be able to fill larger quantities of vials (RTU and bulk), cartridges, syringes and custom containers.