Roundup of recent CRO, CDMO news

PPD​

Jaguar Holding Company II and CRO Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD) plan to commence an offering of $1.125bn in aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2023 in a private offering that is exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933.

The issuers expect to use the proceeds from the offering, which PPD estimates will be approximately $1.111bn, together with proceeds from the expected refinancing of the Issuers’ existing senior secured credit facility and cash on hand to redeem the issuers’ $575m in aggregate principal amount of 9.50% Senior Notes due 2019, redeem Jaguar Holding Company I’s $1.125bn in aggregate principal amount of 9.375%/10.125% Senior PIK Toggle Notes due 2017, and to make dividends to Jaguar’s shareholders and/or distributions to its optionholders.

Envigo​

A group of institutional investors has committed up to $125m in a minority equity financing to the combined company of Huntingdon Life Sciences and Harlan Laboratories, which has recently been renamed Envigo.

CEO Brian Cass said the investment strengthens the company’s balance sheet “to pursue additional organic and strategic investments​.”

Patheon​

Flexion Therapeutics has entered into a strategic manufacturing and supply agreement with CDMO Patheon for the manufacture of FX006, Flexion's lead program.

The agreement is meant to complement Flexion's existing manufacturing relationship with Evonik and create redundant supply for FX006, which is an intra-articular (IA) sustained-release steroid for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). Patheon and Flexion will establish a dedicated manufacturing suite at Patheon's specialty sterile manufacturing facility in Swindon, England, to allow Flexion greater control of unit production and provide added scale to meet long-term product demand.

Metrics​

Full-service contract​ development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Metrics Contract Services is expanding its analytical lab capabilities by adding two new UPLC (Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography) systems.

Metrics has acquired two new Waters ACQUITY Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography H-class (UPLC) systems. These additional UPLC systems will help the company’s chemists produce better resolution liquid-chromatography separations in shorter analysis times, thus improving characterization of complex samples.

“Our clients have been requesting our help with exactly these types of analytical projects, so it’s exciting to expand our capabilities in support of our customers’ programs​,” said Jennifer Alligood, associate director of analytical services.

Metrics also recently added a Thermo Scientific iCAP ​Q ICP-MS mass spectrometer and a Milestone UltraWAVE Single Reaction Chamber digestion vessel.

Cromos​

Full-service CRO Cromos Pharma has opened a representative office in Prague, Czech Republic.

CEO Vlad Bogin said the company has been managing clinical trials in Central and Eastern Europe for several years, utilizing home-based project managers and monitors “and we feel that the time has come to strengthen our territorial presence by opening a fully operational office in the heart of Central Europe​.”