The acquisition – financial terms of which were not provided – saw Slovakian drugmaker Saneca buy Suir outright.
The deal is designed to add Suir’s capabilities in the production of finished oral dosage forms and Beta-Lactam antibiotics to Saneca’s existing active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and contract manufacturing operations.
Saneca spokesman Lubo Soltys said Suir will provide “enhanced pharmaceutical development capacity and tech transfer capabilities across a range of Pharmaceutical forms which will certainly provide easier access to various markets to our worldwide customer base.”
Clonmel, Ireland-headquartered Suir claims it operates the only Independent Beta-Lactam production facility in Europe that is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
According to publicly available information, Suir’s US customers include New Jersey-based Dava Pharmaceuticals, for which it produces penicillin using APIs supplied by Sandoz.
Special situations
Suir was previously owned by Germany’s STADA. Mutares, a self-styled acquirer of companies in “special situations” bought the firm in 2012, which is the last year in which it recorded a profit according to reports in the Irish media.
In the years since Suir appears to have struggled.
In May 2014, Ireland’s Labour Court backed management proposals to cut employee pay and working hours in the face of mounting losses.
According to the Court document Suir executives predicted that the firm would lose more than €1.8m last year and said savings in the region of €1.1m would be needed in 2015 in "order to remain trading."