OLON SPA (P&R Group) ACQUIRES RICERCA BIOSCIENCES CHEMICAL DIVISION IN OHIO (USA)

Acquisition strengthens service offering of global CDMO and Generics provider for research and manufacturing

Milan (Italy) – June 9, 2017 Olon S.p.A., a world leading Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) and Generics supplier, announced today the acquisition of Ricerca Biosciences’ Chemical Division of the contract research (CRO) and CDMO based in Concord, Ohio, USA. This acquisition strengthens the service offering of Olon for the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, and to benefits the Ricerca Biosciences customer base by providing large scale manufacturing capabilities in Europe.

Paolo Tubertini, CEO of Olon, commented, "By acquiring a research and manufacturing base in the US, Olon will have the opportunity to accelerate growth by adding new CDMO projects and to develop new Generic products for the American market." Luca Mantovani, OLON Managing Board member, added, "We are delighted to add Ricerca Biosciences to Olon Group, as this strategic step will broaden our contract research and manufacturing services for all our global customers". No financial details were disclosed.

About Ricerca
Ricerca Biosciences is a US-based CRO supporting the development and manufacture of APIs and performance materials in support clinical supply, market development and commercial distribution.  Ricerca’s extensive process/synthetic chemistry, analytical chemistry and engineering expertise provides a synergy that excels at first-time scale-ups and subsequent development of safe, reliable, robust and cost effective manufacturing processes.    Meeting client needs has been the foundation of Ricerca’s business philosophy and is second only to its commitment to safety and regulatory compliance. www.ricerca.com

P&R and Infa Group shareholders have reached the deal closing for the transaction of 100% Infa shares to Olon SpA.

Olon is one of the largest European developers and manufacturers, supplying APIs for the pharmaceutical industry worldwide both, for Generic as well as for contract manufacturing.
OLON owns 5 manufacturing sites in northern Italy (Rodano, Settimo Torinese, Garbagnate Milanese, Mulazzano and Dorno) with more than 800 employees while INFA Group, with more than 400 employees, has 2 manufacturing sites in Italy, Labochim and Sifavitor, and 1 in Spain, Derivados Químicos.

The acquisition will broaden and diversify the portfolio by doubling it up to more than 200 Generic products and will strengthen the presence in the Contract Development & Manufacturing Organization (CDMO).

OLON 2015 revenue were above € 200 mln. The 2016 total pro-forma revenue expected combining Olon and INFA will be well over € 300 mln, confirming the birth of a significant player in Europe as well as in the US.

"The acquisition of INFA will provide an established custom synthesis presence with customers worldwide and will strengthen our Generic position by adding a large amount of products positioning OLON as one of the largest player in Europe," said Paolo Tubertini, OLON CEO.
“INFA will be complementary to OLON in the Generic field and add new technologies and a broad base capabilities and expertise in the field of contract manufacturing for the development of new intermediates and API”, said Luca Mantovani, Infa Group CEO

Strategic advantages of the acquisition

The merge of Olon and Infa will expand Olon products portfolio already including, among others, fermented and semi-synthetic API, HPAPIs and cytotoxic compounds, controlled substances, retinoids, antivirals, biologics, recombinant peptides.

Olon and Infa will have available about 130 Active US Drug Master Files (DMFs) and more than 50 EU Certificates of Suitability (COS) or Compliance with the European Pharmacopoeia (CEP) and will rely on 8 manufacturing facilities self-identified under GDUFA.

The acquisition will strengthen its services to CDMO customers from the early clinical phases up to the commercial manufacturing, thanks to an highly qualified R&D team, a QA operating under the highest international standards and an experienced Regulatory team supporting the filings globally.

About P&R

P&R Group is one of the major Italian groups in the chemical-pharmaceutical industry, headquartered in Rodano (Milan), with revenues in 2015 for more than  € 550 million, of which more than 70% by exports.

P&R Group holds SIR, Fidia Farmaceutici and Olon, with 2,000 employees.

P&R Group is recognized as a player who contributed significantly to the history of the Italian chemical industry, with its activities dating back to early 20th Century.