Catalent launches two parterships to broaden Asian presence

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Catalent Pharma Solutions announced today two joint ventures that will provide access to drug delivery and clinical trial capabilities in China and the Asia Pacific.The company, in the Somerset section of Franklin, plans to invest in its Softgel Technologies and Clinical Supply Solutions businesses over the next few years to broaden its offerings in the Chinese market.

“With a facility in China, we can continue to invest and grow in the global market and help the industry develop new and better products,” said Elliott Berger, Catalent’s global vice president for marketing and strategy.

Pending regulatory approvals, Catalent will acquire a majority share in Zhejiang Jiang Yuan Tang Biotechnology Co., a business with 120 employees that produces nutritional softgel products for Asian markets.

“The softgel industry is a large and growing market,” Berger said. “In China, there is a lot of traditional Chinese medicine. We believe there is a great potential there for us in the OTC market with various softgel products, and a lot of opportunity in the Asia Pacific to do more softgel technology.”

The second venture involves Catalent and ShangPharma Corp., a pharmaceutical and biotechnology R&D outsourcing company in China. They will partner to form Catalent Clinical Trial Supplies, and build a 31,000-square-foot facility in Shanghai for clinical trials.

“Catalent, over the last seven years, has been involved in 40 percent of the products approved by the FDA in some way,” Berger said. “A global leader like us needs the ability to partner with our customers, no matter where they are.”