Sterling Pharma Solutions announces acquisition of CiVentiChem in the US

UK-based contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), Sterling Pharma Solutions, has announced its acquisition of CiVentiChem’s US facility located in Cary, North Carolina, US.

The new facility, located close to the Research Triangle Park, will allow Sterling to offer a local presence to its US clients and enhance its chemistry development capabilities to support pre-clinical and early phase clinical supply.

The acquisition follows Sterling’s record growth, with the company more than doubling its sales since its formation in 2016 following a management buy-out (MBO). With the support of its new investor, GHO Capital, the acquisition advances Sterling’s strategy to build a global chemistry services business.

Commenting on the announcement, Kevin Cook, CEO of Sterling Pharma Solutions, said: “We’re delighted to announce our acquisition of CiVentiChem in the US. We’ve been keen to expand our presence in the US market and the site’s capabilities complement our current service offering.

“The North American market now makes up 70% of our customer portfolio which was one of the major reasons behind the decision to look for a facility in the US. This has been primarily driven by the market’s emerging pharma sector and customer demand for our specialist capabilities in complex and challenging chemistry.”

The acquisition of CiVentiChem US is the latest step in Sterling Pharma Solutions’ ongoing growth strategy to allow it to continue providing high service levels to its global customer base.

The purchase of the new facility follows the completion of a majority acquisition of Sterling Pharma Solutions by the specialist European healthcare investor, GHO Capital earlier this year.

Sterling Pharma Solutions is the UK’s largest provider of small molecule API development and manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical industry, specialising in handling challenging chemistries. With over 50 years’ experience, the team can manage the most complex API and API intermediate challenges and its facilities have the scale to go from proof-of-concept to commercial manufacture.

CiVentiChem is a leading provider of solutions for complex chemistry problems across the pharmaceutical, biotech and life sciences industry. Founded by Dr. Bhaskar Venepalli and Dr. Srinivas Chittineni, CiVentiChem’s US facility houses development laboratories and kilo scale cGMP suites.

“We have developed excellent relationships with many clients and this acquisition will make Sterling a global player in CDMO business” said Bhaskar Venepalli, CiVentiChem President and CEO. CiVentiChem will continue to operate out of its own facility in India as a separate entity to Sterling.

CiVentiChem was advised on this transaction by Wombat Capital Markets, LLC.