BioMarin to buy Pfizer plant in Ireland for $48.5 million

California, USA-based biotech firm BioMarin Pharmaceutical (Nasdaq: BMRN) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a bulk biologics manufacturing plant from global drugs behemoth Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), located in Shanbally, Cork, Ireland. The plant was approved by the Irish Medicines Board in 2010.

The purchase price is $48.5 million, around one-fifth of the expected cost to construct and validate a new facility, says BioMarin. The purchase is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011 following the wind down of current operations and the transfer of the Irish EPA license.

The plant will be occupied in a phased transition with substantial manufacturing activities being tied to results of the ongoing Phase III clinical study for N-acetylgalactosamine 6-sulfatase (GALNS) for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis IVA (MPS IVA, also known as Morquio A Syndrome). In the meantime, maintenance expenses for the facility are expected to be about $4 million a year. It is anticipated that the facility will be licensed for GALNS production by 2015. This is the first time the company has placed internal biopharmaceutical production activities outside of the USA.