Xellia Pharmaceuticals Expands US Production

Xellia Pharmaceuticals has acquired manufacturing facilities in Bedford, Ohio from a wholly owned subsidiary of Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (‘Hikma’). Financial details are not disclosed.

Under the terms of the agreement, Xellia has acquired substantial parts of the site including several new manufacturing units for sterile injectables which are not currently operational.

Hikma will retain the remaining facilities including the Quality and Development Center which has been operated by its subsidiary, West-Ward Injectables, Inc. since it acquired the site in 2014.

The site was previously owned by Ben Venue Laboratories, Inc. who ceased manufacturing in December 2013. Xellia plans to invest significantly in the facilities to resume manufacturing in the new units at the site and in the establishment and training of a new organization to operate the plant.

The Company will work closely with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure a timely and controlled start-up at the facility.

Xellia plans to begin commercial production at the site within 24 months. The facility will operate alongside the Company’s existing sterile injectables production plant in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Bedford site significantly increases Xellia’s production capacity for sterile injectable products in the US, ability to meet the growing needs of its US customers and enables future pipeline expansion.

Commenting on the acquisition, Carl-Åke Carlsson, CEO, Xellia said: “The US is a very important market for us, and as a region with a strong manufacturing heritage and a uniquely skilled and specialized workforce, Bedford, Ohio is an ideal location to expand our manufacturing capabilities. Together with our production site and new US headquarters in Raleigh, Xellia is in a great place to help make critical anti-infectives available to the patients that need them. We are looking forward to being co-located at the Bedford site with Hikma and to continue to work closely with them in the future.”

Xellia intends to recruit around 170 new employees across a range of departments including; manufacturing, supply chain, distribution, quality, engineering, human resources and finance at the Bedford site over an initial twenty-four month period.