Merck Divests API Facility Under Supply Agreement

PRWT Services’ subsidiary Cherokee Pharmaceuticals has acquired a Riverside, Pa., plant from Merck. The company also entered a five-year supply agreement with Merck worth an estimated $100 million to $200 million annually.

The plant produces human and animal drugs, including antibiotics. Upgrades to the site are planned, and the company will expand the facility’s 400-person work force, PRWT said.

The divestiture is part of Merck’s manufacturing network restructuring initiated roughly two years ago, which included a global rollout of lean manufacturing principles to reduce the time from customer order to manufacturing.