Santen’s Tampere manufacturing facility to be acquired by NextPharma

Santen SA and NextPharma today announce that Santen’s Tampere manufacturing facility and related operations will be acquired by NextPharma, a leading European pharmaceutical Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO). The acquisition is expected to be completed in the summer of 2019.

NextPharma will be taking over the site fully staffed, with 181 employees involved in manufacturing and its support functions, including quality control, quality assurance, IT and administration, transferring to NextPharma.

A large number of Santen employees in Finland not necessarily linked to Manufacturing or its functions, such as Sales and Marketing, R&D, Regulatory, Quality Assurance, Pharmacovigilance, Human Resources, IT and Administration will not be affected by the acquisition and those roles will continue being part of Santen.

“Since 1997, Santen has benefited tremendously from the expertise and commitment of our colleagues here in Tampere which has contributed so significantly to the growth of the Santen business in the region. We are pleased that through the acquisition of the site by NextPharma, we both increase the flexibility and efficiency for Santen’s supply chain and at the same time generate an exciting future for our people by becoming the centre of excellence for ophthalmology and blow fill seal technology (BFS) within the NextPharma manufacturing network. Santen’s goal of securing sustainable growth as a specialised pharmaceutical company with a global presence is now one step closer,” commented Katri Outinen, Managing Director, Santen Oy.

Peter Burema, CEO of NextPharma, welcomed the strategic partnership: “This is an important moment for NextPharma as a leading European Contract and Development Manufacturing Organisation. Through this acquisition, Tampere will add ophthalmology manufacturing and sterile blow fill seal (BFS) technology and will provide an excellent extension to our six other manufacturing sites in Europe, each of them with their own specific technologies and/or therapeutic classes of medicine. The extensive experience that the Santen team will bring is key to the continuity of production of the highest quality products, and we are eager to welcome them to the NextPharma family.”