Bigger is Better

Aptuit acquires Evotec to broaden its suite of drug development services

by Joanna Cosgrove

Greenwich, CT-based Aptuit, Inc. has cemented its presence in Europe with the acquisition of the Chemical and Pharmaceutical Development (CPD) business of Evotec AG, which is comprised of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) facility in Oxford, England, and an established, recently-expanded parenteral fill/finish facility in Glasgow, Scotland. The venture, which gives Aptuit access to more than 80 clients, is projected to generate revenue upwards of $40 million this year alone.

According to Aptuit’s Michael A. Griffith, chief executive officer and founder, Evotec’s scientific staff and two pilot plants in Oxford, as well as its parenteral fill/finish capabilities in Glasgow will be integrated into Aptuit’s existing global network. “We will then leverage those capabilities to drive our commercial-scale capabilities in India, providing our clients with world-class drug development services from discovery to commercialization,” he said.

Evotec’s CPD business not only provides Aptuit with clinical scale parenteral fill/finish, including two lyophilization suites, but also with small molecule API development labs, kilo labs and European pilot plants to complement its existing global API network, which includes operations in Harrisonville, MO, Kansas City, MO, and Hyderabad, India. It also enables Aptuit to provide drug substance development, scale-up and manufacturing capabilities in all three major pharmaceutical geographies.  

As part of the acquisition, Aptuit has also entered into a long-term supply agreement with Evotec pursuant to which it will provide both API and the full range of Aptuit’s development services in support of Evotec’s proprietary pharmaceutical pipeline.

Ongoing Improvements

This acquisition is the latest in a string of moves by Aptuit, which span the acquisition of EaglePicher last year, a sizable investment in Eagle Labs and additional investments in Aptuit’s existing operations, which includes a $15 million upgrade in the company’s Harrisonville facility and the construction of process development and kilo labs in Kansas City.

The Evotec acquisition is expected to accelerate growth of Aptuit Laurus, the company’s recently announced joint venture in India with facilities in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Vizag. “Aptuit’s newly-expanded API presence and client base will provide a natural stream of opportunities for Aptuit Laurus to offer a seamless and cost-effective transfer to commercial scale manufacturing,” commented Dr. Satyanarayana Chava, chief executive officer of Aptuit Laurus and a member of Aptuit’s board of managers.  

“Aptuit’s strategy is focused on providing our customers with a comprehensive suite of high quality drug development services, from premiere providers and facilities in three major geographical areas of the world: North America, Europe and Asia,” stated Frank Wright, vice chairman and founder of Aptuit. “This latest acquisition of Evotec’s CPD business enables us to provide API capability in Europe, thus completing our global API offering in these three regions.”

Mr. Wright said that the Evotec acquisition extends Aptuit’s most important areas of focus. “In a highly regulated, scientific environment development activities are often open-ended which leads wasted time, resources and money. With this in mind, the critical focus for Aptuit and our some 2,650 scientific employees around the world is two-fold,” he said. “First, we aim to ‘get it right the first time.’ Using this approach we drive waste out of the system by constantly challenging and improving our business and technical development processes, and by investing in state of the art facilities, equipment and people. The underlying objective is to capture all client related project data at point of creation in a totally secure environment using a company-wide electronic ‘spine’ which can be web-accessed by the client to obtain real time project information, 24 hours a day.

“Second,” he continued, “we are committed to Delivery to Promise, in how we establish project scope, objectives and deliverables with the client. This is reinforced by a world-class approach to project management.”

Joanna Cosgrove is the online editor Contract Pharma.