Catalent has completed its previously announced $950-million acquisition of Cook Pharmica, a Bloomington, Indiana-based contract development and manufacturing organization of biologic-based drug substances and parenteral drug products. Catalent agreed to acquire the company in September 2017.

With the acquisition, Catalent has created a business unit focused on Biologics & Specialty Drug Delivery, to be led by Barry Littlejohns, formerly president of Catalent’s Drug Delivery Systems Solutions, who will serve as president of the new business unit. He will oversee eight Catalent facilities focused on biologics development, manufacturing, analytical, and sterile fill/finish and Catalent’s respiratory and ophthalmic business platforms.Tedd Green, formerly president of Cook Pharmica, will now serve as senior vice president, Catalent Bloomington.

Catalent has reorganized the remainder of its former Drug Delivery Solutions business into a newly formed Oral Drug Delivery Business Unit, to be led by Jonathan Arnold, formerly vice president and general manager for Catalent’s Drug Delivery Solutions Business Unit, who will now serve as President of the Oral Drug Delivery Business Unit. This new business unit will bring together formulation and analytical development, bioavailability enhancement,including micronization, hot-melt extrusion and spray-dry technologies, controlled release, orally disintegrating tablet technology, and commercial supply across nine facilities.

The acquisition of Cook Pharmica provides Catalent capabilities in biologics development, clinical and commercial cell-culture manufacturing, formulation, finished-dose manufacturing, and packaging. Cook Pharmica has an 875,000-square-foot development and manufacturing facility in Bloomington, Indiana. Cook Pharmica’s more than 750 associates, including its executive team, have joined Catalent’s global network of more than 30 sites and more than 10,000 team members.

The acquisition complements Catalent’s existing capabilities in cell-line engineering, bioconjugate development, analytical services, biomanufacturing, prefilled syringe, and blow/fill/seal technologies. Catalent operates a biologics manufacturing facility in Madison, Wisconsin and has proprietary cell-line technology, GPEx. Its operations also include fill/finish services in Brussels, Belgium and Limoges, France; conjugation technology in Emeryville, California; and a network of biologics analytical locations.

Source: Catalent