The 150,000 square-foot Bohumil, Czech Republic site currently manufactures recombinant proteins used in vaccines. Novo has acquired the facility along with all its support infrastructure and an existing workforce of 150 employees.
According to the agreement, US-based Novavax has received $190 million in cash, and is expected to receive an additional $10 million in 2025. With this sale, Novavax aims to reduce its annual operating cost by about $80 million.
“Novavax is evolving from a company that is independently manufacturing, distributing, and commercializing vaccines on a global scale to a much more efficient and focused R&D model,” a spokesperson for Novavax told BioProcess Insider.
“As part of this evolution, we completed the sale of our Czech Republic manufacturing facility as we continue to prioritize improvements to long-term supply chain efficiency, which could both provide cash proceeds and a reduction to our ongoing operating costs.”
The late-stage biotechnology firm Novavax acquired Praha Vaccines in 2020 for approximately $167 million in cash. Through this acquisition, the firm also took control of the Bohumil facility.
The acquisition was supported by Novavax’s funding arrangement with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which helped facilitate the strategic expansion of its vaccine production capabilities. At the time of the acquisition, the facility was undergoing renovation to include biosafety level-III (BSL-III) capabilities.
“The decision to sell the Czech Republic manufacturing facility aligns with our previously announced commitment to evolve Novavax into a more lean and agile organization focused on partnering our pipeline assets and technology platform,” said John Jacobs, chief executive officer (CEO), Novavax.
“We are thankful to our dedicated colleagues in the Czech Republic who have contributed to Novavax’s mission of delivering our technology to address unmet needs. We look forward to working with Novo Nordisk to ensure a successful transition.”
Novo’s 2024 expansion
Recently, the Danish drugmaker expanded its 200-acre plant in Odense, Denmark. The facility was reported to serve as a fill/finish site for injection pens loaded with Novo’s star weight loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic (semaglutide). The firm plans to build a packaging plant by 2026 and molding of plastic components for pens by 2030.
That news broke days after Novo confirmed an investment of $4.1 billion to build a second fill/finish manufacturing plant in Clayton, North Carolina to produce injectables to treat obesity and serious chronic diseases. The 1.4 million square-foot plant is expected to create 1,000 jobs and will double the firm’s combined square footage in the state. The plant is expected to be operational between 2027 and 2029.
Moreover, in June 2024, BioProcess Insider reported that the firm entered talks to acquire Korean contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) SK Pharmteco’ s Petersburg, Virginia facility for $216 million.
That preceded the news of Novo acquiring CDMO Catalent for $16.5 billion earlier this year. Under the terms of the agreement, Novo will gain three drug-product manufacturing facilities from Catalent.
Additionally, reports have suggested that the firm is looking to build a 1.6 million square-foot manufacturing site in Grange Castle, Ireland. In January 2024, a spokesperson for Novo told us it acquired land at Grange Castle Business Park and had submitted a planning application.
For the third quarter of 2024, the Danish firm reported a net profit of 27.3 billion Danish kroner ($3.92 billion), with sales of Wegovy 79% higher year-on-year, coming in at 17.3 billion Danish kroner ($2.4 billion).
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Publish date : 2024-12-04 23:56:00
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