Evotec has inked a deal to sell its biologics manufacturing facility in Toulouse, France, to generics giant Sandoz for around $300 million. The transaction advances Evotec's plan to forge an "asset-lighter and capital-efficient" model for its manufacturing arm, Just - Evotec Biologics.
Under terms of the deal, Sandoz will gain access to Just - Evotec Biologics EU's J.POD facility and its platform for integrated development and advanced continuous manufacturing. Once the purchase closes, Sandoz will use the plant to crank out biosimilars using the continuous manufacturing tech, Evotec said in a July 30 press release.
Sandoz is already familiar with the facility, which has been "customized and dedicated entirely" to the Novartis spinoff since last July, Evotec pointed out.
The plant sale will mark a continuation of the companies' ongoing biosimilars manufacturing team-up, which the partners expanded last summer.
Aside from the $300 million upfront, Evotec also stands to gain additional revenue, milestone and royalty payments through Sandoz's production work at the Toulouse facility.
“Today’s agreement marks a significant milestone in Evotec’s new strategy to refocus on its core strengths and deliver sustainable profitable growth,” Christian Wojczewski, Evotec’s chief executive, said in the release. “By leveraging Just - Evotec Biologics’ capabilities as a scalable technology provider while moving to a more capital efficient model, we are well positioned to shape a new segment in the biologics manufacturing market and expand the scope of our partner base.”
The sale is expected to “immediately improve” the company’s revenue streams, profit margins and capital, Evotec said.
Evotec announced in April 2024 that it planned a corporate restructure to shore up its balance sheet and boost growth.
The following month, the company exited the gene therapy space by closing its facility in Orth an Der Danau, Austria, which operated under the Evotec Gene Therapy moniker. The company’s new CEO, Wojczewski, who took over last year, said in August that Evotec would likely shed 400 jobs as it works to regain profitability in a market hampered by a slowdown of early-stage R&D spending.
In November, the company unloaded its chemical API production facility in Halle/Westphalia, Germany, to Munich-based private equity firm Monacum Partners for an undisclosed price. At the time, Evotec reported having 5,022 employees globally. Currently, the company reports having 4,800 workers.