The Bridgewest Group, a premier private investment company that focuses on disrupting industries through innovation has announced its subsidiary’s purchase of Pfizer’s biologics manufacturing facility in Adelaide.
Hospira Adelaide, an affiliate of Pfizer, will continue to operate the facility under a leaseback arrangement from Bridgewest Australia until Q3 of 2021, at which time Bridgewest will assume full operational responsibility for the facility and colleagues.
The Adelaide facility has the manufacturing capability, staff expertise, and supporting systems to execute cGMP grade manufacturing and testing of microbial-based products, including proteins, vaccines, and plasmids from development stage through to commercialisation.
President and CEO of Bridgewest Australia Biotech, Ian Wisenberg, said the company was thrilled with their first acquisition in Australia.
“This site has all the trappings to be a significant player in support of the development and manufacture of therapeutics for our clients around the world,” he said.
“The team is world-class, and we are very excited to have the opportunity to retain such a capable and experienced group of individuals.
“With investment from Bridgewest, we will be able to expand our capabilities and offering to become a force both locally and abroad. We will also look for additional M&A opportunities to achieve these goals as well as seek to attract and retain the very best talent in the market.”
The facility has experience as a multi-product CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) which moving forward, under Bridgewest’s ownership, will be further developed and expanded upon.
Bridgewest intends to invest in operational expansion, including adding capabilities around Mammalian Cell production, Cell and Gene Therapy as well as expanding current capabilities for Microbial and Vaccine production.
According to industry analysts, the Pharmaceutical CDMO market is expected to reach US $224.9 billion ($305.9 billion) by 2025, registering a CAGR of 7 per cent, during the period of 2020-2025.
As a result of the growing demand for generic medicines and biologics, the capital-intensive nature of the business, and the complex manufacturing requirements, many pharmaceutical companies have identified the potential profitability in contracting with a CMO (contract manufacturing outsourcing) for both clinical and commercial stage manufacturing.
With heavy demands on existing cGMP manufacturing facilities for COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines, there is a high demand for qualified and well-equipped commercial cGMP facilities.
Bridgewest CEO Masood Tayebi said it was the relationships and trust that paved the way for the successful closing of the transaction.
“We have been very fortunate over the past 16 years since the founding of our first life science venture, BioDuro, to have developed strong relationships within the life sciences industry,” he said.
“As we transition this site into a full-fledged CDMO, we see significant potential to leverage this centre of excellence to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our clients across every stage of drug development and manufacture.”