Pace Life Sciences Adds Liquid Capsule Filling Technology, Acquires New Jersey Laboratory From Curia & Appoints Dawn Von Rohr as Division President

Pace^® Life Sciences recently announced it has added liquid capsule filling technology to their comprehensive suite of oral solid dose development offerings.

“This new liquid capsule filling technology not only enables us to broaden our support from early phase to late phase clinical trials but increases our capabilities for viscous formulations and overlaying oxygen sensitive products with nitrogen,” said Pace Site Head and Sr. Director, Lisa Z. Crandall.

The Lonza CFS 1200 Capsule Filling and Sealing Machine installed in the Pace cGMP manufacturing facility in Ann Arbor, MI, increases throughput of hard-shell liquid-filled capsules to a nominal speed of 1,200 per hour. This equipment can provide accurate filling, from 0.1 to 1.2 mL, into various sizes of capsules. Liquid formulations filled into hard shell capsules allow for delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs in pre-dissolved or self-emulsifying forms improving oral bioavailability.

Rob Tuohy, Vice President of Pharmaceutical Development, added “The addition of this technology completes our suite of services for supporting bioavailability enhancement of orally administered drugs. Between liquid capsule filling, spray drying, hot-melt extrusion, and nano-milling, we have all the tools necessary to enable our customers’ drug development programs.”

Pace Life Sciences, LLC, also announced it has acquired the Lebanon, NJ, laboratory facility (formerly Whitehouse Analytical Laboratories) from Curia, a global contract research, development, and manufacturing (CDMO) company. For more than a decade, this site has steadily cultivated partnerships across the biopharma industry through its ability to provide expertise and speed in development and commercial analytical laboratory services.

“This acquisition builds upon our leadership in the analytical services space to support emerging drug development partners through commercialization activities,” said Eric Roman, CEO of Pace. “I am excited to leverage this expansion with the New Jersey team to further collaborate with our pharma and biopharma clients.”

“Over the years, our Lebanon site has offered specialized analytical services that are highly valued by customers, and I am proud of the work that team has done,” added Philip Macnabb, CEO of Curia. “However, these services fall outside of our core capabilities, and we determined that this site would be better served under the leadership of an owner with overlapping interests, while allowing us focus on our specialties—discovery, development and manufacturing of life-changing medicine.”

The acquisition grows the Pace Life Sciences network to 9 sites able to support a wide spectrum of small and large molecule analytical services, formulation development, and early stage drug product manufacturing services. The New Jersey location allows the company to expand its capacity for FDA-registered central laboratory services, including analytical chemistry, microbiology, container closure integrity testing (CCIT), sterility, and other packaging and delivery testing services.

Lastly, Pace Life Sciences, LLC announced Dawn Von Rohr has been named Division President. Von Rohr will be responsible for driving growth and continued innovations within the Pace Life Sciences division and will report to Eric Roman, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Von Rohr is an experienced leader with over 25 years of expertise in global CDMO strategic growth initiatives and operational improvements, specifically within the pharmaceutical industry. Before joining Pace, she served as Senior Vice President of Strategy at Curia, formerly AMRI, where she led strategic growth and commercial excellence initiatives and supported M&A strategy and integration. Her strong background in drug substance development to commercialization and Research and Development activities was gained earlier in her career when she served at Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals.

“Dawn Von Rohr’s commitment to excellence, strategic thinking, and a passion for fostering collaboration will be a great asset to our leadership team,” said Roman. “Under her leadership, I am confident that the Life Sciences division will continue its high growth and be a key accelerator for our customers’ critical development and commercial activities.”

Curia is a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) with over 30 years of experience, an integrated network of 27 global sites and over 3,500 employees partnering with biopharmaceutical customers to bring life-changing therapies to market. Our biologics and small molecule offerings span discovery through commercialization, with integrated regulatory and analytical capabilities. Our scientific and process experts and state-of-the-art facilities deliver best-in-class experience across drug substance and drug product manufacturing. From curiosity to cure, we deliver every step to improve patients’ lives. Visit us at curiaglobal.com.

Pace Life Sciences provides a full suite of contract CMC development, clinical trials materials manufacturing, regulatory compliance, consulting, and facility support services to the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and gene therapy industries. Our network of CDMO sites consists of GMP analytical testing laboratories and manufacturing support service centers. Our experienced, highly trained industry experts and our investment in state-of-the-art development and manufacturing facilities emphasize our commitment to efficiently advancing client programs through the clinic to commercialization. We are dedicated to delivering the best and most reliable services with positive customer experiences across all channels of our business. More at pacelifesciences.com.

Pace makes the world a safer, healthier place. Pace people are committed to advancing the science of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in our Life sciences laboratories and supporting businesses, industries, consulting firms, government agencies, and more in our Analytical Services Laboratories. Pace offers local-level service backed by a national laboratory network. For customers with in-house labs, Pace® provides a range of professional services to keep their operations moving forward. Pace people work in partnership with customers by providing the service, science and data they need to make critical decisions that benefit us all. For more information, visit pacelabs.com.