Patheon has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Agere Pharmaceuticals, a CDMO headquartered in Bend, OR, that specializes in bioavailability. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.
 
Agere helps customers improve the absorption rate and delivery of medications through its solubilization expertise and technologies. The Bend facility will serve as a solubility center of excellence and will fall under Patheon’s pharmaceutical development services (PDS) operations. Combining Agere’s solubility expertise with Patheon’s large-scale, global development and manufacturing network, provides customers seeking to improve drug absorption rates with support from early development through commercialization. 
 
“We see a growing need to offer customers an integrated, agnostic approach to address their development and drug delivery needs. Agere adds a new capability and allows us to provide customers with formulation expertise for solubility enhancement,” said Michael Lehmann, president, global pharmaceutical development services and executive vice president global sales and marketing. “With this acquisition, we strengthen our number one pharmaceutical development services position with a solution that integrates scientific acumen and design automation.”
 
“We are excited about the opportunity to become a part of Patheon, a recognized leader in the industry and a company that shares our interest in providing outstanding service and support to customers,” said Marshall Crew, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Agere. “Our team remains committed to the organization and is focused on implementing a strategy that will help customers address complex solubility issues at any stage of the development lifecycle.”