CordenPharma is entering synthetic oligonucleotide manufacturing via an investment at its CordenPharma Colorado site. This will draw on its solid-phase peptide manufacturing experience and downstream processing capabilities to offer a fully integrated drug substance and drug product offer.

Bachem has signed a new framework agreement to provide large volumes of peptides to an unnamed customer following a joint development project. This covers “a committed volume at an equivalent value of over CHF 500 million for the five-year period of 2027-2031, with significant upside potential,” the company said.

This follows recent deals a previous large-volume contract for another unnamed customer worth CHF 175 million in 2023-4. The deal was announced in September 2022 and subsequently upgraded with a further work order for a minimum total of CHF 1 billion from 2025 to 2029.

CordenPharma has signed a multi-year agreement for the contract manufacture of a large-volume launch peptide at its former Roche facility in Boulder, Colorado. This will begin in 2023 and will potentially be worth about $1 billion, depending on actual production levels required. The customer has not been named and no further details are being disclosed.

Private equity firm Atorg has agreed to acquire CDMO CordenPharma from International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG), subject to customary regulatory approvals. The founders, Patrick Schnitzer and Dr Achim Riemann, will also reinvest in the firm and CEO Michael Quirmbach remains in place.

According to the German business newspaper Handelsblatt, the International Chemical Investors Group (ICIG) intends to sell CordenPharma. A valuation of around €3 billion has been cited. ICIG has, the paper said, has already had meetings with potential buyers and will send out information packs to them by the end January. Neither ICIG nor CordenPharma has made any comment.

CDMO CordenPharma has acquired the finished drug product manufacturing business of Vifor Pharma Group, which is refocusing its manufacturing on nephrology and iron deficiency. This comprises sites at Fribourg and Ettingen in Switzerland, and Lisbon, Portugal. Terms were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in Q1 2022.

CDMO CordenPharma is planning to invest heavily in all its platforms in terms of both capacities and capabilities, according to Dr Stephen Houldsworth, global head of platform management and marketing, who spoke with SCM at CPhI Worldwide in Milan.