Porton Fine Chemicals, a China-based contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) serving the global pharmaceutical industry, said that its wholly-owned subsidiary Porton USA will acquire J-STAR Research, a contract chemistry organization based in South Plainfield, NJ, for $26 million.

J-STAR has been serving as an outsourcing partner for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries since its inception in 1996. There are currently 47 employees. J-STAR offers services to support early phase clinical development of small molecule APIs, with core business covering custom synthesis, process research, crystallization research and development and analytical services. After the acquisition, Porton will expand its business reach of its CDMO.

“The strategic acquisition of J-STAR allows us to accelerate the fulfillment of our goal of providing integrated outsourcing services in the development and manufacturing of new drugs,” said Oliver Ju, chairman, Porton. “J-STAR will complement PTC, our recently launched technology center in Cranbury, NJ. We look forward to seeing market and operating synergies to be achieved in the future, and we are very pleased to welcome J-STAR to Porton.”

Andrew Thompson, chief executive officer and co-founder of J-STAR, said, “Adding our expertise and technologies onto more comprehensive, integrated development services to more customers has always been a main strategic goal for us. With the integration with Porton’s platform, we shall find a perfect match connecting our customized development ability with Porton’s advanced manufacturing experience to better serve the new drug industry.”