Evonik Acquires Transferra Nanosciences Inc.

Evonik and Transferra Nanosciences, Inc., formerly known as Northern Lipids Inc., recently announced they have signed an asset purchase agreement on June 21, 2016, to acquire the business and assets of Transferra Nanosciences Inc., a biotechnology company based in Burnaby close to Vancouver (Canada). Both parties have agreed to not disclose the purchase price. The transaction is scheduled to close at the end of July 2016.

Transferra is a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) that provides services as well as products to biotechnology companies engaged in the development of pharmaceutical products, using the company’s unique expertise in liposomal drug delivery systems. The acquisition allows Evonik to further expand the portfolio of its Business Line Heath Care in the area of parenteral drug delivery technologies and services.

“This transaction reflects our continued commitment to growth in the healthcare area and in the drug delivery space in particular,” said Dr. Reiner Beste, Chairman of the Board of Management of Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH.

Transferra services include prototype identification, scale-up and process development, analytical support and qualification of methods, production of test articles for toxicology studies and cGMP manufacturing of clinical trial materials. In addition Transferra offers a range of benchtop LIPEX extruders, as well as custom-built LIPEX extruders for large-scale manufacture of commercial drug products.

Evonik Health Care has recently developed into a leading provider of formulation development and GMP manufacturing services to the Pharmaceutical Industries for advanced parenteral drug depot formulations, building on the acquisition of the RESOMER portfolio of bioresorbable polymers and Surmodics Pharmaceuticals in Birmingham, AL.

“Transferra is delighted to become a part of the Evonik group and is looking forward to bringing together two complementary sets of assets and capabilities in advanced parenteral technologies. The combined expertise in biopolymer microparticles and liposomal nanoparticles will significantly contribute to the development of innovative medicines,” said Don M. Enns, President and CEO of Transferra.

“The combination of the drug delivery businesses of Transferra and Evonik will form a leading service provider providing a full array of services, ranging from prototype identification to commercial manufacturing”, added Dr. Jean-Luc Herbeaux, head of the Health Care Business Line at Evonik. “We can now support our customers in the most important areas of complex injectable drug formulation technologies to the benefit of our customers and the patients alike.”

Evonik, the creative industrial group from Germany, is one of the world leaders in specialty chemicals, operating in the Nutrition & Care, Resource Efficiency and Performance Materials segments. The company benefits from its innovative prowess and integrated technology platforms. In 2015, more than 33,500 employees generated sales of around €13.5 billion and an operating profit (adjusted EBITDA) of about €2.47 billion.

The Nutrition & Care segment is led by Evonik Nutrition & Care GmbH and contributes to fulfilling basic human needs. That includes applications for everyday consumer goods as well as animal nutrition and healthcare. This segment employed about 7,000 employees, and generated sales of around €4.9 billion in 2015.

Transferra Nanosciences Inc., a life sciences company based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, provides Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) services to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies globally. It specializes in both the development and manufacture of complex drug delivery systems using lipid nanoparticle science and has been in operations since 1991.