Aesica Acquires Merck Chemical Manufacturing Site

Cramlington, UK (Oct. 9)-Aesica (www.aesica-pharma.com), a supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), announced it had acquired a chemical-manufacturing facility at Ponders End, UK from Merck Sharp and Dohme Limited (MSD, Hoddesdon, UK, www.msd-uk.co.uk), the British subsidiary of Merck and Co., Inc. (Whitehouse Station, NJ, www.merck.com). Aesica also has agreed to supply intermediates and APIs to Merck for several years. The supply agreement could generate $150–300 million in revenue.

The Ponders End manufacturing facility in Enfield, North London includes potent-compound and bulk-manufacturing facilities that produce several of MSD's products. The plant can manufacture as much as 300 tons of products per year. Following the acquisition agreement, 74 of the site’s employees immediately became employees of Aesica.

Merck's sale of the facility is part of the company’s global restructuring of its manufacturing operations. Merck aims to build an international manufacturing network that is better suited to its current and anticipated product demand. The restructuring was announced in November 2005.