Ardena has acquired ChemConnection, a contract manufacturer of novel active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and nanomedicines.
This announcement follows a series of acquisitions by Belgium-headquartered Ardena and is part of its strategy to form a leading integrated drug development company and reach the €30m sales mark this year.
“This acquisition is a major step in the execution of our wider strategy to become one of Europe’s leading one-source-contractors for the development of clinical supplies,” Harry Christiaens, CEO of Ardena, said. “Until today, Ardena was primarily focused on pharmaceutical development and manufacturing of drug products. With the acquisition of ChemConnection we strengthen our offering with complementary drug substance services. Moreover, the team in Oss is globally reputed for its nanomedicine expertise enabling the targeted delivery of complex small molecules and biomolecules.”
Based at the Pivot Park life sciences campus in Oss, the Netherlands, ChemConnection employs a team of more than 60 with expertise in process and analytical development, cGMP manufacturing and stability studies for APIs and nanomedicines. Its state of the art facility has the capability to manufacture APIs up to 30 kg scale.
Ardena was formed in 2017, following the merging of three companies with complementary capabilities: Pharmavize in Belgium, and Crystallics and Analytical Biochemical Laboratory (ABL) in the Netherlands. With the acquisition of ChemConnection, Ardena now employs a total of 200 scientists at its Belgian headquarters in Ghent and across three sites in the Netherlands (Oss, Amsterdam and Assen).