Acquisition of Solus BioTech Expands Croda's Specialized Pharma Business in Asia

Croda International Plc recently announced it has acquired Solus BioTech, a global leader in premium, biotechnology-derived materials, from Solus Advanced Materials. The acquisition provides access to Solus BioTech’s existing biotech-derived ceramide and phospholipid technologies. Located in South Korea, this expands Croda’s Asian manufacturing capability further and will create a new biotechnology R&D hub in the region.

Solus BioTech brings a portfolio of phospholipids, spanning pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications. These naturally derived phospholipids are produced at a GMP plant and can be used as delivery systems for pharmaceutical actives. This will strengthen the Pharma presence in Asia and enable collaborative R&D with Croda’s Avanti portfolio for the supply of lipid systems for drug delivery. The acquisition will give Croda greater ability to serve natural phospholipids to customers in Asia and globally, and the opportunity to accelerate delivery of Croda’s pharma product innovation pipeline.

James Lawrence, Global Business Director – Small Molecule and Protein Delivery, Croda, said “This is an exciting opportunity for Croda. We are expanding our high purity excipient offering through incorporating these naturally derived phospholipids into our product portfolio, and we look forward to leveraging it globally across our customer base. Additionally, we are gaining more GMP manufacturing capabilities in North Asia, which will help to meet our long-term strategy of Empowering Biologics Delivery in this key region.”

Solus BioTech is also a leading supplier of naturally derived powder ceramides, a high-growth global market with further potential to extend into formulated ceramides within the Personal Care market.

Croda’s Pharma business is a leading partner for the development of excipients and the supply of high purity materials for pharmaceutical formulations, committed to enabling the next generation of drug delivery systems. The business is focused on empowering biologics drug delivery, through its adjuvant systems, small molecule, protein, and nucleic acid delivery platforms. With a wide range of solutions for both human and animal health markets, our pharmaceutical portfolio is unsurpassed in its excellence for drug and vaccine delivery. Croda’s products, along with its in-house formulation and regulatory expertise, allow the business to meet its customers’ most demanding formulation needs. For more information, visit www.crodapharma.com.

Solus BioTech has more than 30 years of experience in biotechnology and fermentation.  It employs 95 people in South Korea at its R&D centre in Bundang near Seoul and its production centre in Iksan.