CMC buys Lilly/ICOS facility
recently acquired biologics facility for an undisclosed amount.
The Bothell facility, Washington State, US, originally belonged to ICOS, but in January this year, drug giant Eli Lilly purchased ICOS Corporation for $2.3bn, giving the company full control of the erectile dysfunction drug Cialis (tadalafil) empire. Now CMC has taken on the biologics development and manufacturing operations, named CMC ICOS Biologics, in a move which sees the company's operations expand in the US. The company already has a biotech presence in Washington state in Seattle. In a statement, CMC said it was planning "significant investment" in the facility with the aim to enable production of late stage clinical trial and commercial biopharmaceuticals. The operation would continue to develop and manufacture therapeutic proteins for early clinical trials and would retain the existing 127 employees working at the biologics facility. "Our plans to upgrade the facility in order to manufacture commercial product will mean that we can provide additional services to both existing and new clients. Moreover, by establishing a presence in the US, we've placed CMC in an enhanced position to actively seek opportunities to grow our businesses," CMC chief executive Mads Laustsen said. ICOS and Eli Lilly have had a long collaborative history, including the development of Cialis. In January, Eli Lilly purchased ICOS in its desire to obtain 100 per cent of the ownership and value of Cialis, which has become the number two selling erectile dysfunction drug after Pfizer's Viagra (sildenafil). As part of the agreement, Eli Lilly also took on the Bothell facility, but at the time the future of the facility was uncertain. When the acquisition was announced in October last year, Eli Lilly Spokesman Phil Belt told in-PharmaTechnologist.com: "We have not disclosed any further details regarding this facility, nor have we made any final determinations regarding this site". In today's announcement about CMC's acquisition, Eli Lilly corporate strategy and business development senior vice president Gino Santini said: "Finding the right company to acquire the ICOS biologics operation has been a priority for Lilly. We are pleased the CMC has committed to retaining the existing staff and serving its current customers." Other terms of the CMC agreement were not disclosed.
