Sterling Pharma Solutions, a global contract development and manufacturing organisation, has completed the acquisition of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility in Ringaskiddy, Ireland, from Novartis. The facility will provide additional capacity for Sterling’s growing API manufacturing services, and the deal includes an ongoing supply agreement with Novartis to continue to manufacture several APIs for cardiovascular, immunology and oncology medicines at Ringaskiddy. Financial details were not disclosed.

The 111-acre site, located near Cork, includes multiple commercial-scale production buildings, with a total vessel capacity of 175 cubic meters across over 30 reactor trains, as well as a small-scale facility, and development and support building housing 14 development and analytical laboratories. The staff of 350 at the site have transferred to Sterling’s employment.

Equipped to undertake a wide range of chemical reactions, including the handling of highly potent APIs, down to an Occupational Exposure Level (OEL) of 200 ng/cubic meter, technologies also include large-scale chromatography columns, solid phase and agitated vessels for peptide coupling and synthesis, as well as various milling and micronization equipment for drug substance processing. Sterling plans to invest in the Ringaskiddy facility to grow its contract development and manufacturing pipeline.

The acquisition is part of Sterling’s ongoing business strategy, which has seen the company grow from a business in 2020 with 300 employees across two sites, to 1,300 employees based across five facilities in the UK, the US and Europe.