Catalent completes acquisition of gene therapy leader

Contract drug manufacturer Catalent has completed its $1.2 billion acquisition of gene therapy manufacturer Paragon Bioservices, the company has announced.

Through the acquisition, Catalent is expected to capitalise on the $40 billion addressable market for gene therapies. In particular, Catalent will utilise Paragon’s expertise in adeno-associated virus (AAV), which are used to deliver DNA to cells.

More so, Paragon’s manufacturing capabilities are expected to enhance Catalent’s biologics business, alongside its end-to-end integrated biopharmaceutical solutions.

Catalent has been targeting the biologics market for a number of years now, making numerous acquisitions of companies involved in the sector. Paragon already has a number of manufacturing projects underway with gene therapy developers across the world.

Details of the acquisition include Catalent retaining all of Paragon’s current employees operating at its two Baltimore manufacturing sites. Paragon recently opened a new, large-scale commercial manufacturing centre in Baltimore, equipped with 500-litre and 2,000-litre single-use bioreactors for clinical through commercial material production.