Halo Pharma resurfaces as stand-alone CDMO following strategic Siegfried acquisitions

USA—Two manufacturing facilities previously operated under Noramco will resume operations as Halo Pharma, marking the rebirth of a stand-alone contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO).

The plants, located in Whippany, New Jersey, and Montreal, will focus exclusively on drug product services across North America.

Noramco acquired these facilities from Cambrex in 2023, bringing the sites back under their ownership after Cambrex had purchased Halo Pharma and its two manufacturing plants in 2016 for USD 425 million.

The divestment positions Halo to focus on expanding into more complex drug-product manufacturing services while strengthening its presence in the sterile CDMO market.

New leadership and strategic direction

Lee Karras, who previously served as CEO of Noramco, will transition to lead Halo Pharma as its chief executive officer.

Karras emphasized the advantages of focused operations in driving business success.

“Anytime you can focus on doing one thing really well, success is inevitable,” Karras stated.

He expressed enthusiasm about working more directly with teams at both manufacturing sites, noting that established pharmaceutical companies have already shown significant interest in securing advance commitments for sterile CDMO services.

Expanded manufacturing capabilities

Halo Pharma plans to launch its sterile CDMO business during the second half of 2026.

The company will deliver capabilities across multiple dosage forms, including solid, semi-solid, and liquid oral formulations.

Additionally, Halo is expanding its offerings to include sterile vial production, prefilled syringes, and cartridge formats.

Beyond manufacturing, Halo will provide sterile product development services encompassing analytical testing and formulation development.

This comprehensive service portfolio positions the company to meet growing demand for complex sterile drug products in the North American market.

Siegfried strengthens position through triple acquisition

The same day brought news that Swiss CDMO Siegfried acquired three active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) facilities from SK Capital, under separate agreements with the Noramco Group and Extractas Bioscience.

The transactions add substantial small-molecule production capacity to Siegfried’s global network and employ approximately 400 people across the three sites.

Financial terms were undisclosed, although Siegfried indicated in an investor presentation that the acquisition price was well below recent expectations for comparable U.S. assets.

Investors responded positively to the announcement, driving Siegfried’s share price up by 13 percent.

New assets in US manufacturing

Through the acquisition of Noramco Group, Siegfried gains a commercial-scale production facility in Wilmington, Delaware.

The deal also includes Purisys, a Noramco subsidiary operating a clinical development and manufacturing facility in Athens, Georgia.

Separately, Siegfried acquires Australia-based Extractas Bioscience, formerly known as Tasmanian Alkaloids.

SK Capital originally obtained Noramco and Extractas a decade ago when it purchased Johnson & Johnson’s opiate supply business for USD800 million.

The assets have now changed hands as part of Siegfried’s broader growth strategy.

Decade of strategic expansion

CEO Marcel Imwinkelried noted that the acquisitions enhance Siegfried’s competitive position in the CDMO market.

“By adding exceptional US-based capabilities, we will become even more attractive to both existing and new customers, creating new opportunities to accelerate profitable growth,” Imwinkelried explained.

He emphasized that the combined capacity and expertise of the three sites strengthen Siegfried’s position as a leading CDMO for small-molecule drug substances.

The latest acquisitions continue a decade-long expansion strategy that has transformed Siegfried’s scale.

The company’s revenue grew from 315 million Swiss francs (USD 353 million) in 2014 to 1.3 billion Swiss francs (USD 1.4 billion) in 2024.

Recent notable transactions include Siegfried’s 2024 purchase of an early-phase development and manufacturing facility in Grafton, Wisconsin, from fellow CDMO Curia.

In 2020, Siegfried entered into an agreement with Novartis to acquire two Spanish facilities that produce finished injectable eye drugs, inhaled capsules, and oral solid-dose medicines.

Five years earlier, in 2015, the company paid USD302 million for BASF’s ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and caffeine API businesses, along with BASF’s custom drug manufacturing operation across four European facilities.