Roche has completed its previously announced sale of its solid-dosage manufacturing facility in Leganés, Spain to Recipharm, a Jordbro, Sweden-headquartered contract development and manufacturing organization.

In September 2017, Roche signed an agreement with Recipharm whereby Recipharm agreed to manufacture a range of solid-dose products and acquire the Roche facility. Recipharm reported that it has begun the supply of commercial products to Roche.

The site produces conventional tablets, film-coated tablets and hard gelatin capsules. Packaging is performed in blister, plastic bottles and glass bottles, currently for more than 95 markets, according to information from Recipharm.

The Leganés plant is one of four facilities that Roche had announced it would be exiting as part of a plan, announced in 2015, to restructure its manufacturing network for small molecules. The other three facilities involved in that plan include those in: Segrate, Italy  (a solid and liquid formulation facility, which Roche sold to Delpharm, a contract manufacturing organization, in September 2017); Florence, South Carolina (a small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing facility which Roche sold to Patheon in a deal completed in February 2017); and Clarecastle, Ireland.

The Leganes site offers opportunity for collaboration with Recipharm’s facility in Parets, Spain, which manufactures solid, semi-solid, and liquid dosage forms.

In November 2017, Recipharm announced plans to discontinue manufacturing operations at its solid-dose manufacturing facilities in Stockholm and Höganäs, Sweden. Recipharm’s operations in the greater Stockholm area employ approximately 180 people and are specialized in the manufacturing of tablets. Recipharm’s operations in Höganäs employ approximately 45 people and are specialized in sachet and stick-pack filling, primarily for powders and granules.

Source: Recipharm