Ardena Acquires Catalent Drug Product Manufacturing Facility in New Jersey

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Belgium-based Ardena announced on Feb. 4, 2025 that it had successfully completed the acquisition of a state-of-the-art drug product manufacturing facility from Catalent. The facility is located in Somerset, NJ, in the United States, according to an Ardena press release (1).

Ardena, a pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) and bioanalytical contract research organization, said in the release that the transaction furthers the company’s strategic expansion into North America, enhancing its suite of drug development services—particularly late-stage, small-scale commercial manufacturing of oral drug projects (1).

“This acquisition reflects our ongoing commitment to supporting biopharma innovators at every stage of drug development,” Jeremie Trochu, Ardena CEO, said in the press release. “The addition of the Somerset facility strengthens our ability to provide tailored, high-quality development and manufacturing solutions to our clients, while accelerating the international expansion of our fast-growing bioanalytical business.”

The New Jersey facility is comprised of more than 50,000 square feet of current good manufacturing practice space and is a recognized Center of Excellence for advanced oral dosage forms, according to the release (1).

Ardena intends to open a new bioanalytical lab on the Somerset site, as part of expanding services the company offers in that region in North America. Plans outlined in the press release call for the lab to have a 2500-square-foot capacity and provide advanced analytical testing services for both small and large molecules, including platforms supporting immunochemistry, liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry, flow cytometry, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (1). There are currently more than 200 workers on staff at the Somerset site.

“We are thrilled to officially welcome the Somerset team into the Ardena family,” Trochu said. “Their deep scientific and technical expertise, their impeccable regulatory track record, and unwavering dedication to excellence align perfectly with our mission of helping clients bring life-changing treatments to patients quickly and efficiently.”

In October 2024, Ardena announced a strategic investment in two sites in the Netherlands: a brand-new bioanalytical laboratory at its Pivot Park facility, located in the city of Oss, as well as added capacity and new good laboratory practice capabilities at its Bioanalytical Center of Excellence in Assen (2). Meanwhile, at the beginning of 2025, Catalent was listed by Pharmaceutical Technology® as one of five CDMOs to watch in the year ahead (3).

Ardena’s acquisition of the Catalent site is the latest of several developments with facilities in New Jersey. In November 2024, Avantor opened a new, flagship Innovation Center in Bridgewater, NJ, a 60,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art R&D space (4). Previous to that, in July 2024, BeiGene opened an $800 million biologics manufacturing facility at the Princeton West Innovation Campus, in Hopewell, NJ, intended to be that company’s flagship facility in the US. The Hopewell site also houses a clinical R&D center (5).

The new bioanalytical lab being opened by Ardena at the Somerset site is expected to be operational by the third quarter of 2025, according to the Ardena press release (1).

References

1. Ardena. Ardena Completes Acquisition of Advanced Drug Product Manufacturing Facility from Catalent and Expands Bioanalytical Services in North America. Press Release. Feb. 6, 2025.
2. Ardena. Ardena Expands Bioanalytical Services in Europe. Press Release. Oct. 29, 2024.
3. Bigica, A. 5 CDMOs to Watch in 2025. PharmTech.com, Jan. 2, 2025.
4. Avantor. Avantor Opens New Bridgewater Innovation Center Focused on Solving Life Science’s Biggest Challenges. Press Release. Nov. 14, 2024.
5. BeiGene. BeiGene Opens Flagship US Biologics Manufacturing and Clinical R&D Facility, Continues Global Expansion to Deliver Medicines to More Patients Around the World. Press Release. July 23, 2024.