OSG strips contract manufacturing biz

Outsourcing Services Group (OSG) has announced it has sold its contract manufacturing subsidiary OSG Norwich Pharmaceuticals to a US private equity firm for an undisclosed amount.

The announcement comes a month after OSG said it would divest its pharmaceuticals business. OSG Norwich said that the operations at the Norwich facility, which employs around 425 staff, will continue "uninterrupted". In addition, the current management team and employees will remain with the new company. The business will operate under the name Norwich Pharmaceuticals. OSG purchased the Norwich plant in 2001 - 250 were working at the facility at the time - forming OSG Norwich Pharmaceuticals, from Procter & Gamble and entered into a five-year manufacturing contract with P&G. Since then, the firm said, the Norwich operation has grown substantially. AFI Partners, the firm buying the business, said it was prepared to "make the necessary investments that will expand Norwich's capacity and capabilities". The New Jersey-based company is a manufacturer of prescription and over the counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals from clinical trials supply through scale-up to commercial launch. It specialises in the production, packaging and distribution of solid dose and other products, and also provides laboratory support services, such as stability evaluation, microbiological testing and analytical testing.