US-based PharmaLogic Holdings Corp, a contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) specialising in radiopharmaceuticals, plans to acquire a majority stake in Agilera Pharma from the Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) in Norway.
Agilera has been a trusted partner for major pharmaceutical companies for more than a decade, manufacturing commercial radiopharmaceutical therapies across the US, Europe, and Asia. With more than 600,000 commercial therapeutic doses delivered to more than 40 countries.
“PharmaLogic’s acquisition of Agilera, one of only two CDMOs worldwide currently manufacturing radiopharmaceutical therapeutics, accelerates the expansion of our capabilities in this high-growth field,” said Etienne Montagut, President of PharmaLogic. “By combining our expertise with Agilera’s industry-leading scale and quality systems, we will be uniquely positioned to offer an end-to-end solution for manufacturing therapeutics at scale and ultimately improve global patient access to these essential treatments. We’re thrilled to welcome Agilera’s very talented team to PharmaLogic and to take the lead in expanding our presence in Europe.”
Under the agreement, Agilera will complement PharmaLogic’s existing manufacturing platform for therapeutics. PharmaLogic is committed to investing in the expansion of Agilera’s CDMO capabilities, strengthening its infrastructure, and scaling its manufacturing footprint to meet rising global demand for radiopharmaceutical therapeutics.
Nils Morten Huseby, CEO of IFE said the sale of a majority stake in Agilera marks a significant achievement as the largest commercialisation effort carried out from the Institute to date. “As a leading Research Institute, IFE is committed to innovation and job creation and has played a key role in the development and manufacturing of radiopharmaceutical therapeutics through Agilera. The entry of PharmaLogic as a new majority shareholder in Agilera will enable rapid scale-up, growth and development of Agilera’s operations to meet the increased demand for radiopharmaceutical therapeutics globally.”
Erik Flatmark, CEO of Agilera said: “With PharmaLogic as a new owner beside IFE, this will enable further investments in the business to ensure that we have the right, available capacity to take on new customer projects and thus achieve faster adaptation to the promising market opportunities. An important step will be to strengthen European and transatlantic distribution of the products from both companies. We feel confident that we together will provide great opportunities for European, US, and global customers, with increased manufacturing capacity and capability in the market.”
IFE was established in 1948 to conduct research on nuclear energy and has built and operated four experimental reactors at Kjeller and in Halden. IFE started with radiopharmaceutical activities in 1952 at the research reactor JEEP I at Kjeller. In the 1960s, IFE offered 28 individual radioactive isotopes for use in diagnostics and treatment and was particularly known for its labelling technology. During the 1980s and 90s, IFE exported its production technology to several countries.
In 2023, IFE spun off the radiopharmaceutical business into a newly created subsidiary, Agilera Pharma, which is the national wholesaler of radiopharmaceuticals in Norway. Agilera has a central pharmacy function for radiopharmaceuticals and a logistics centre that distributes radiopharmaceuticals throughout Norway and globally.
