News Article

Swiss contract development and manufacturing organisation CordenPharma is buying the US-headquartered peptide specialist AmbioPharm.

The transaction will significantly bolster the global peptide production capacity of CordenPharma, which is owned by the private equity firm Astorg. While the financial details of the deal remain undisclosed, the acquisition marks a major expansion for CordenPharma into the complex peptide active pharmaceutical ingredient market.

AmbioPharm operates two primary manufacturing sites located in North Augusta, South Carolina, and Shanghai, China. The organisation employs approximately 400 people and focuses on developing efficient manufacturing processes for synthetic peptides at both clinical and commercial scales.

For healthcare investors, the inclusion of the Shanghai campus is particularly noteworthy as it provides CordenPharma with a state of the art facility featuring significant upstream capacity across solid phase, liquid phase, and hybrid synthesis methods.

The integration of these facilities will expand CordenPharma’s existing peptide platform across three continents. Dr Michael Quirmbach, the Chief Executive Officer of CordenPharma, noted that the acquisition helps the company meet the growing demand for partners who can offer scientific route selection alongside large scale downstream manufacturing. This is especially relevant given the rising popularity of peptide based therapies, such as the glucagon like peptide 1 agonists used in weight loss treatments.