Ardena cements growth and expansion with new HQ

Larger headquarters will enable the company to free up space for additional laboratories and further expand capabilities.

Since 2015, Ardena has grown from 40 to 250 staff members and seen more than 20% organic growth per year, fueled by the CDMO’s M&A strategy which has seen four acquisitions in the past 2 years, most recently Netherlands-based ChemConnection and Sweden-based Syntagon.

It now operates across six sites in Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and Latvia and boasts a global reach, servicing more than 300 customers in Europe, the US, Japan and Korea.

Ardena offers integrated drug development services encompassing drug substance and drug product development, clinical manufacturing, clinical logistics, full product analytical and bioanalytical support and regulatory dossier development. The company is also a leader in nanomedicine technology.

Harry Christiaens, CEO at Ardena said: “After several acquisitions and an ongoing growth period, we are firmly on track to reach our €35 million sales target for 2018 as part of our wider strategy to become a leading integrated drug development company.

“This new, larger headquarters will enable us to free up space for additional laboratories at our other sites and further expand our capabilities. It will also provide a base for our staff training centre to ensure we develop our team.

“As we move into 2019, we look forward to continued international success and carrying on with our acquisition strategy to further strengthen our service offering.”

Ardena was formed in 2017, following the merging of three companies with complementary drug development capabilities: Pharmavize in Belgium, and Crystallics and Analytical Biochemical Laboratory (ABL) in the Netherlands.