Ofichem acquires Uppsala site from Meribel Pharma Solutions

Netherlands-based contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) Ofichem has purchased Meribel Pharma Solutions’ Uppsala site to expand its non-GMP capabilities in early-stage development.

The Swedish site, which was formerly part of Recipharm and known as OT Chemistry, serves a client base of more than 40 biotech and mid-sized pharma companies.

It has a workforce of 20 who specialise in small-scale, early-phase development across areas such as small molecules, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), oligonucleotides and proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs).

Ofichem’s CEO and owner Dr Weite Oldenziel said: “This acquisition is a strategic building block in Ofichem’s broader transformation. Our goal is to serve innovative biotech companies with agile, early-stage development solutions, and this site offers precisely the expertise and technologies we need to deliver on that vision.”

As Ofichem looks to widen its traditional focus on the generics and mid-sized pharma sectors by increasing its biotech investment, the deal also feeds into Meribel’s own ambitions.

Bruce Vielle, CEO of Meribel, said: “Strategically, the partnership enables Meribel to sharpen its focus on advancing our drug product solutions, an area where we see increasing demand and opportunity.

“Importantly, we remain committed to ensuring continuity and support for our customers throughout this transition and beyond. We’re confident this collaboration will deliver long-term value for everyone involved.”

UK-headquartered Meribel opened its doors for business in April this year as a mid-sized CDMO and retains 12 pharma manufacturing sites across Europe in France, Spain and Sweden following the divestment of the Uppsala site to Ofichem.

For its part, the deal is Ofichem’s second in recent weeks, following its recent agreement to acquire Avivia, a formulation development firm from Nijmegen in the Netherlands. Contract development organisation (CDO) Avivia also brings its analytical method development, dissolution testing and excipient characterisation experience to Ofichem.

Dennie van den Heuvel, Co-Founder and Development Director at Avivia, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be joining the Ofichem family. This is an exciting step forward for us, one that opens the door to enhanced service offerings for our customers. We remain deeply committed to delivering high-quality formulation development services, and this new chapter strengthens our ability to do just that, with even greater reach and expertise.”