Bora Pharmaceuticals looks to enter the cell and gene therapy CDMO space
The two parties will jointly invest up to US$108m, targeting “forward-looking” contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) and contract research organizations (CROs).
Bora intends to do so through the deployment of private equity funds and its existing resources.
The company said it intends to leverage this alliance to enter the macromolecular and cell and gene therapy manufacturing space, and by doing so, significantly strengthen its international competitiveness, while driving the growth of Taiwan's CDMO sector.
The CDMO market has huge growth potential, said the organization.
"In order to effectively allocate resources, international pharmaceutical makers have moved towards specialization over the past few years, resulting in CDMO services becoming a trend sweeping the global biotech pharmaceutical sector," said Bobby Sheng, chairman, Bora Pharmaceuticals.
Indeed, a recent market research report noted the global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) market was valued at US$177bn in 2020, with it forecast to grow at a CAGR of 8.4% between 2021 and 2026 to reach a value of US$302bn by 2026.
Manufacturing footprint
To date, Bora has been focused on small molecule development and manufacturing.
In December last year, the CDMO finalized the acquisition of GSK's facility in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Initially announced in March 2020, the deal represented Bora’s first manufacturing facility in North America.
It has two facilities in Taiwan. Its Zhunan facility produces solid-dosage forms, with bottle packaging and serialization capabilities, covering 316,000-square-feet; its Tainan facility also produces solid-dosage forms, with packaging lines, covering 258,000-square-feet.
