PCI Pharma Services is set to acquire Ajinomoto Althea.
Althea is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan’s Ajinomoto. The deal, expected to close by May 2025, gives PCI its first North American facility for manufacturing prefilled syringes and cartridges, including isolator technology and capabilities for handling high potent drugs such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs).
Althea’s injectable drug services at both clinical and commercial stages will strengthen PCI’s sterile fill-finish offering. The company also brings significant expertise in oligonucleotides and peptides, which supports PCI’s work in complex formulations and lyophilisation. This includes a range of injectable formats such as vials, bottles, syringes, and autoinjectors for biologics like mRNA, monoclonal antibodies, proteins, and nanoparticles.
The acquisition includes high potent vial filling with lyophilisation, positioning PCI among the few US-based CDMOs able to support ADC manufacturing—a growing field in oncology. This move supports PCI’s goal of building a global, end-to-end development and manufacturing solution for biologics.
Althea’s capabilities also complement PCI’s existing device assembly and packaging operations in Europe and North America. Its San Diego facility expands PCI’s West Coast presence, adding to its clinical trial support and robotic sterile fill-finish operations, and creating a flexible and scalable manufacturing hub.
This acquisition forms part of PCI’s continued investment in sterile fill-finish technologies, expanding its capacity and capabilities to meet growing global demand for advanced drug delivery solutions.