Catalent continues expansion spree with BMS manufacturing facility

The facility is located in Anagni, Italy, and has oral solid manufacturing and packaging equipment, in addition to its capacity for sterile biologics fill/finish.

Catalent, a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), noted that Bristol-Myers Squibb’s site will complement its existing fill/finish facilities in Belgium and North America.

The facility has 207,000-square-feet of floor space on a total site covering 34 hectares, which was opened in 1966.

Alessandro Maselli, Catalent’s COO, said, “BMS has invested in the facility to create a center of excellence for new product launches with a robust quality and delivery record, and an employee base who shares Catalent’s operational excellence and patient focus.”​

Currently, the facility manufacturers and produces cardiovascular, neuroleptics, anticancer, metabolic and anti-inflammatory medicine. It also produces antibiotics, antivirals, analgesics and biologics.

BMS stated that it will maintain its presence in the country through the ongoing development and commercialization of new medicines, as it moves forward with its its acquisition of Celgene​ for $74bn (€65.2bn).

A spokesperson for Catalent told us, "Upon closing the transaction, Catalent plans to continue manufacturing the same set of products currently manufactured at Anagni for BMS, maintain the current employees and operate the facility as an important part of its global CDMO network."​

The spokesperson confirmed plans to invest further into the site, with $5-10m ($4.4-8.8m) earmarked for the site's growth.

For Catalent, the deal arrives as part of a series of investments made by the CDMO to expand its capacity in biologics manufacturing, including with a move in the US to also improve its fill/finish capacity​.

Even more recently, Catalent invested heavily in the gene therapy area, with a $1.2bn acquisition of Paragon Bioservices​.

The financials of the deal were not revealed for this most recent deal, which is expected to complete by the end of 2019.