The South African firm initially drew up plans to buy the API facility in Oss, the Netherlands, from MSD (known as Merck & Co. in North America) in February and today has completed the purchase of the facility, an associated US sales office, and an option of 11 branded drug products.
The deal worth ZAR10bn ($1bn) “strongly complements Aspen’s strategic intent of globalising its business by providing access to a niche range of APIs and products,” said Aspen’s CEO, Stephen Saad.
The Oss facility manufactures approximately 55 different products and Aspen will continue to manufacture a number of APIs on behalf of MSD under a 10-year supply contract, the company has said. Furthermore
API facility and GSK Acquisition
In very much related news, Aspen’s global reach has been doubly stretched with set plans to buy a specialised sterile plant in Notre Dame de Bondeville, France from GlaxoSmithKline being completed yesterday for £700m.
Along with this facility, Aspen has boosted its portfolio by acquiring the Arixtra (a thrombosis treatment) and Fraxiparine brands from GSK.
The API in Fraxiparine is heparin which is one of the products manufactured at the ex-MSD facility, and therefore the purchase of the two sites and brands allows Aspen to “to pursue a more vertically integrated supply chain,” said Saad, “leading to benefits such as production / inventory planning and economies of scale in procurement.”
Aspen expects the majority of GSK’s commercial operations at the site to transfer to the firm by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals.
“Aspen is a long-term partner of GSK and will be able to dedicate the resources that these products deserve to take them forward,” said David Redfern, Chief Strategy Officer, GSK.
In May GSK announced it was shuttering a tablet facility in Australia and Aspen would pick up some of the manufacturing from its four Australian sites. GSK sold a number of its Australian non-core brands to Aspen last year, a firm which it owns a 16% stake.