Five months after striking a deal to buy Pfizer’s WA manufacturing operation, Bridgewest Group has completed the purchase and outlined plans to add to its 400 local staff.
Five months after striking a deal to buy Pfizer’s Western Australian manufacturing operation, Bridgewest Group has completed the purchase and outlined plans to add to its 400 local staff.
The WA operation has been rebranded as NovaCina and will be led by president and chief operating officer Brett Alderson, who was formerly with Pfizer.
Bridgewest has also established a sales and marketing business, LumaCina, to create new markets for the products manufactured in Perth.
In addition, it has partnered with Juno Pharmaceuticals to provide better distribution of its products to hospitals and other customers.
Bridgewest is the fourth owner of the Bentley manufacturing facility, which specialises in sterile injectables.
Originally established by local company Delta West in the 1980s, the facility was bought by Upjohn (Pharmacia) in the early 1990s and Pfizer in 2003.
Pfizer signalled two years ago plans to sell or shut the WA facility as part of a global restructure of its manufacturing operations.
Mr Alderson said there had been concerns the facility could be shut down with the loss of 400 jobs, but that changed five months ago when Bridgewest announced its intention.
Bridgewest’s Australasia representative, Ian Wisenberg, said his group was buying equipment and products and was focused on growth opportunities.
The Bentley facility will continue supplying Pfizer but has scope to expand.
“It provides an opportunity to manufacture for other companies as well,” Mr Wisenberg said.
“We have the ability to drum up new customers both locally and internationally.”
He said the acquisition included a suite of products previously manufactured at the Bentley facility.
“The products we have acquired have been sold in 90 countries and the opportunity is to expand countries and products,” Mr Wisenberg said.
Mr Alderson said the WA facility used a highly automated manufacturing process called blow fill seal, which provided a competitive edge.
“We also have a unique capability with the filling of oncology products,” he said.
These ensured the WA facility, which employs 400 people, was globally competitive.
“We have to do things that are hard to do and sterile manufacturing is one of the hardest things,” Mr Alderson said.
Mr Wisenberg said there was an aspiration to grow the WA operation.
“We want to make sure the business is sustainable with the existing products line but also an expansion into different products,” he said.
The WA acquisition comes three years after Bridgewest completed a similar deal in Adelaide, where it bought a microbial drug substance manufacturer from Pfizer.
It has since upgraded the Adelaide facility and achieved 20 per cent-plus growth.
Mr Wisenberg, who is based in Adelaide, said he would focus on identifying expansion opportunities and partnerships with universities, investors, and government.
“We are owner operators, not just passive investors, we look at opportunities where we can make a difference,” he said.
In New Zealand, for instance, Bridgewest has formed and funded new companies in tandem with a government investment entity in a public private partnership.
“We hope to do something similar here in Australia,” Mr Wisenberg said.
He said he had also been in discussions with local venture capital investors and was keen to engage with local researchers.
“How can we all work together to raise the profile and attract additional companies and investors into Australia,” Mr Wisenberg said.
Miami-based Bridgewest Group was established in 1999 by the Tayebi brothers and has over $3 billion in private capital.
It has invested in life sciences, software, and deep tech companies around the globe.
Co-founder and chief executive Masood Tayebi said the attractions of Australia included an active and forward-thinking medical science community with research and clinical trial capabilities.
“Further, the Australian government has been extremely proactive in providing incentives to attract pharmaceutical manufacturing investment in the country,” he said.
“All of these factors played a role in our decision to invest in Perth and clearly aligns with our goal to secure pharma manufacturing in WA for the long term.”
Bridgwest’s regional team includes NZ-based Marc Rivers, who has been recruited as president and chief financial officer of holding company Bridgewest Perth Pharma.
The group has also recruited US-based executive Jon Kafer to head up LumaCina and is hiring additional staff to run that business.
