Ireland's Pharma Success Story Bought by U.K. Firm

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Ireland's leading homegrown manufacturer of generic drugs, Chanelle Pharma (Loughrea, Galway) has been sold to U.K. private equity company Exponent (London).

The deal, estimated to be worth around 300 million euro (US$323 million), will see the Galway-based company become part of Exponent's growing Irish portfolio. The company has so far invested more than 1 billion euro (US$1.07 billion) in its Irish operations, with Chanelle being the sixth. The decision to sell was made by its founder and managing director, Michael Burke, who founded the company in 1985 and who will be retiring on completion of the sale. Chanelle employs 730 people, most of them in Ireland, but with some in the U.K., Europe and Jordan. It offers services including research and product development, registration and production of generic pharmaceuticals for both human and veterinary pharmaceuticals. In the European Union (EU), Chanelle holds the largest number of veterinary licenses of any animal health company. One of its leading products is Spot-On, used to protect dogs and cats against harmful parasites.

Industrial Info is tracking two research and development (R&D) laboratory expansion projects at its Loughrea site that are currently on hold. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.

"Having dedicated my life to building Chanelle Pharma into a global company, I have decided the time is right to allow new owners to lead the company into its next phase of growth," explained Burke. "I am very pleased that Exponent is acquiring Chanelle Pharma. They value the heritage of our company and share our ethos and vision. They have the expertise and resources to grow Chanelle Pharma with new investment across all our operations".

James Gunton, a partner at Exponent, said: "The business has established itself as a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer of both veterinary and medical products with an extensive portfolio of licenses. We see tremendous opportunity in the development pipeline and look forward to bringing new products to market, as well as continuing to invest in Research and Development in the years to come."

Chanelle Pharma's headquarters in Loughrea, Galway, is located on a 17-acre site and includes three manufacturing plants, four R&D centers, warehousing and offices. In 2018, Chanelle Pharma announced one of the largest investment programmes by any Irish company, committing to invest 86 million euro (US$92.7 million) in the expansion of its Galway operations. That included the construction of a 30,000-square foot manufacturing facility for Spot-On, allowing Chanelle Pharma to begin selling into the lucrative U.S. market. The site also manufactures generic pharmaceuticals for export to over 90 countries. Chanelle spends around 8 million euro (US$8.6 million) annually on R&D into both human and veterinary animal health products. For additional information, see September 17, 2018, article - Chanelle Creating 350 Jobs at Irish Pharmaceutical Plant.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).