Sandoz, a Novartis division, announced today that it has successfully acquired the UK-based medical and drug delivery device development company, Coalesce Product Development Limited.

Coalesce emerged in July 2009. The company’s know-how in drug delivery and communications in the pharmaceutical industry “almost immediately led to valuable projects and long-term relationships,” according to Coalesce’s website.

Through this deal, Sandoz has acquired the significant capabilities and assets of Coalesce, which will help it build on its existing portfolio of respiratory medicines and further improve patient access to these high-quality, complex therapies.

Sandoz CEO, Richard Saynor said:

Respiratory and complex generics are areas of relatively high unmet medical need, due largely to their comparatively high technical complexity. At Sandoz, we have the experience and expertise to succeed in these fields and this acquisition offers us a significant new growth platform, particularly in the US and Europe, reinforcing our commitment to pioneer access for patients.

Respiratory diseases are leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Asthma is a major non-communicable disease affecting both children and adults, and in 2019 it affected an estimated 262 million people. In the same year, about 3.23 million deaths were attributed to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The resulting burden of respiratory diseases on healthcare systems and productivity amounted to more than USD 380 billion per year across 28 EU member states.

With an existing portfolio of six in market-products and nearly twice as many more in the pipeline, Sandoz sees respiratory as a key pillar of its ambitious long-term growth strategy and intends to actively explore further opportunities both in-house and externally. More generally, Sandoz is determined to grow its portfolio in the complex generics space, including complex injectables.