Just a day after we reported news that its collagen supply business had been acquired by Collbio, Outsourcing-Pharma.com can announce Angel Biotechnology Holdings (ABH) has offloaded its main manufacturing facility at the Pentlands Science Park in Edinburgh, UK.
Campbell Hart from PR Company BigPartnership told this publication that the site has been purchased by AB Technology, a company set up Medica Materia Holding (MMH) towards the end of last year.
He said: “Initially the company was intended to be a joint venture with Angel but events meant this did not happen.”
Discussions between Angel and MMH had been ongoing since plans for Angel to develop and manufacture products for the Russian company were first drawn up in 2011. Angel was to add 230m2 of manufacturing space and a 93m2 non-GMP laboratory to its Cramlington facility near Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK dedicated solely to the joint venture with MMH.
Though three new manufacturing contracts were signed between the two companies in February 2012, Angel had expected to have secured a joint-venture and be manufacturing at least seven products for MMH under a five year deal.
In interim results last December, ABH’s Non-Executive Chairman Nicholas Smith said “technical problems with the MMH contracts” had delayed the process and attributed to the company’s financial problems.
ABH – comprising of Angel Biotech and Angel Biomedical – fell into administration in February.
Salvaged Operations
Blair Nimmo, joint administrator and Head of Restructuring at KPMG Scotland, said in a statement: “This sale will secure the long term viability of the development and manufacturing operations at Pentlands Science Park, saving the vast majority of jobs during a time of continued economic uncertainty.”
He added that AB Technology “has an excellent understanding of this specialist area and is well placed to build the business in the years to come.” Financials and details of ongoing contracts were not mentioned.
One company, Reneuron, who has used Angel as a CMO (contract manufacturing organization) for production of its stem cell therapies since 2006 remained confident “that any change in ownership will not have any material impact.” According to a spokesperson the company has made alternative manufacturing arrangements though no further information was disclosed.
The facility at Pentland’s has had full accreditation from the MHRA since 2005, covering the manufacture of cellular therapies and stem cells for use in clinical trials, as well as the manufacture to GMP of biopharmaceuticals for commercial sale.