Laboratoires Fournier site acquired by Recipharm

Contract development company Recipharm has acquired the Fontaine-Lès-Dijon (France) site for an undisclosed sum from Laboratoires Fournier, a subsidiary of Solvay Pharmaceuticals.

The site, which houses a tablet and capsule manufacturing facility and a modern logistics centre, formally changed ownership on 31 December 2008, and the entire workforce have been retained by Recipharm.

This additional production capacity in France will allow Recipharm to expand its offering into a region it has identified as having scope for growth. The company already has a sterile manufacturing plant in Monts (Indre-et-Loire), which it acquired from Astra Zeneca in July 2007

Under the terms of the agreement, Recipharm receives an initial contract covering most of the current site activities. The acquisition offers Recipharm increased dry form production capacity and the company says it has plans to develop the site.

The contract company headquartered near Stockholm, Sweden, now operates nine manufacturing facilities in Sweden, France, UK and Switzerland and supplies the biopharmaceuticals market with products in solid dose granulates and powders, steriles, semi solids, beta-lactams, hormones and dry powder inhalers.

Thomas Eldered, ceo and md of Recipharm, said: ‘The acquisition of the Fontaine-Lès-Dijon site brings to the group major new customers, a skilled workforce and an excellent facility. It also supports our strategy to become one of the world’s leading CDMO’s’.