Sterling paves the way for ADC Bio acquisition with strategic partnership

UK-based CDMO makes ‘significant investment’ as companies combine HPAPI small molecule expertise with antibody drug conjugate specialism

The partnership will see Sterling make a significant investment in the business with a view to acquiring ADC Biotechnology in Q1 next year, subject to due diligence.

Sterling said the businesses will work together to develop an integrated service offering for existing and potential customers, which combines ADC Bio’s expertise with Sterling’s high potency small molecule expertise.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The announcement follows Sterling’s acquisition of a second US development and manufacturing facility, Alcami’s Germantown plant in Wisconsin in September. At the time, Sterling said the new facility would provide additional capacity for customer API development and manufacturing projects, specifically those with complex and hazardous requirements.

The Germantown facility houses state-of-the-art cGMP development, scale-up and manufacturing facilities. Germantown has specialist expertise in handling technologies including plant-scale hydrogenation and cryogenic reactions.

UK-headquartered Sterling now employs over 700 people across the UK and the US.

Describing the partnership as “exciting”, Sterling CEO, Kevin Cook, CEO, said it would enable continued innovation around this fast-developing science, “and in the future we hope that our combined expertise and targeted investment will be a strong competitive force in the race to find the latest generation of drugs in the oncology area.”