Lubrizol buys Particle Sciences to build in device and formulations contracting space
The deal – financial terms of which have not been disclosed – is designed to further build Lubrizol’s presence in the medical device contracting sector and comes just over a year after it acquired Wisconsin-based contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) Vesta from RoundTable Healthcare Partners.
Deb Langer, general manager of Lubrizol LifeSciences, said the “combination of Lubrizol's polymer expertise, Vesta's quality medical manufacturing and Particle Sciences' drug formulation development allows LifeSciences to provide end-to-end solutions in the drug delivery market.”
Particle Sciences will keep its name and operate as part of Lubrizol’s advanced materials division alongside Vesta.
A Particle Sciences spokeswoman - who described the acqusition as an addition to Lubrizol's portfolio rather than a takeover - said: "There will be no change to staffing at Particle Sciences."
She added that: "The addition of Particle Sciences supports Lubrizol LifeSciences strategy to become the leader in polymer based drug delivery. Particle Sciences broadens our formulation, analytical and manufacturing capabilities, as well as provides access to advanced drug delivery devices.
"With the addition of Particle Sciences, Lubrizol can now offer customers application and complex pharmaceutical formulation capabilities, providing full service drug delivery solutions to the market across a variety of dosage forms."
Pharma investment
Lubrizol was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway – the US conglomerate controlled by billionaire investor Warren Buffett –in 2011.
At the time CEO Lubrizol James Hambrick said: “As part of Berkshire Hathaway, we have real and significant opportunities to continue creating customer value by providing complex and innovative chemistries, formulations and solutions for some of the most demanding performance applications in the world.”
The Particle Sciences and Vesta acquisitions differ from first deal Lubrizol made under its new owners.
In 2011 Lubrizol bought Lipotec’s cosmetics active ingredients business and skin care unit but opted not to acquire its active pharmaceutical ingredient business, BCN, or injectables unit, GP Pharm.
