PRWT revenues grow 120%
The Merck active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) facility in Riverside, Philadelphia, US was bought by PRWT in January 2008 and established as a subsidiary called Cherokee Pharmaceuticals.
Cherokee’s Q1 2009 revenues rose by 455 per cent to $45.5m, which represents the bulk of PRWT’s $64.5m income in the quarter.
Harold Epps, president and CEO of PRWT, said: "The acquisition of Cherokee, combined with the investments we have made in the plant, property, and people, have enabled us to achieve significant increases in consolidated revenues, margins and profits for the first quarter of 2009.
“We believe that Cherokee provides us with a significant opportunity based on its existing pharmaceutical platform, which includes state-of-the-art manufacturing and distribution capabilities, significant under-utilised capacity and operating leverage, and long-standing relationships with industry leaders.”
When PRWT acquired the facility it entered into an API supply agreement with Merck, which was predicted to generate $100-200m annually over five years.
This has been supplemented by a contract that uses Cherokee’s analytical testing and current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) compliant production in SAFC’s raw material supply chain.
In total Cherokee delivered five different products to customers in Q1 2009, up from one in the corresponding period of 2008, and further growth is targeted for the coming year.
John Elliot, President of Cherokee, added: “We are actively pursuing opportunities to broaden our customer relationships, enlarge our product portfolio, and expand the suite of pharmaceutical-related services we can provide."
