BioDuro last month announced the divestiture of its drug product development and manufacturing operations in Irvine.
The operations, which includes one 65,000-square-foot facility and another 40,000-square-foot facility focused on the development and scale-up manufacturing of clinical-phase drug products, was acquired by Delaware-based Forma Life Sciences Inc., formed by BioSelective Capital Investments and Shayan Enterprises LLC, for the purpose of the acquisition.
BioDuro’s global headquarters will remain based in Irvine, according to the company.
“This divestiture is a strategic step that allows BioDuro to further sharpen our focus on our core strengths in drug discovery and drug substance development and manufacturing,” BioDuro Chief Executive Armin Spura said in a statement. “By streamlining our portfolio, we are better positioned to allocate resources and expertise where we deliver the greatest value to our partners.”
BioDuro bills itself as the third-largest contract research, development and manufacturing organization (CRDMO) in the world. It provides services to several industries, including chemistry, biology, drug substance and drug product.
Founded in 2005, BioDuro has a global presence spanning seven R&D and manufacturing sites counting more than 2,000 employees across the U.S. and China. About 72 are locally based, making it the sixth-largest drugmaker in Orange County by headcount.
Company Founded in San Diego
BioDuro has undergone several corporate transitions since its founding.
It started as a drug discovery services company by Biotech Investment Group in 2005 in San Diego, with a vast majority of its employees and operations based in China.
In 2009, Pharmaceutical Product Development Inc. (PPD), a global contract research organization, acquired BioDuro for approximately $77 million, according to news reports.
In 2015, BioDuro merged with contract manufacturer Formex LLC, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of BioDuro to expand its U.S. production capabilities. As part of the deal, BioDuro acquired Formex’s 44,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in San Diego.
By 2020, BioDuro’s majority investor, Advent International, merged BioDuro with Shanghai-based Sundia, forming a new entity called BioDuro-Sundia.
A year later, it expanded into Orange County by acquiring two large manufacturing facilities, totaling more than 100,000 square feet in the Irvine Spectrum area, near the southern edge of the Great Park.
Launches New Peptide Business Unit
The divestiture of BioDuro’s Irvine operations comes three months after the company launched a new peptide business unit.
The new unit was created to help meet the rapidly growing global demand for peptide-based therapeutics, including GLP-1 treatments for diabetes and weight loss, BioDuro said.
“The creation of this Peptide BU marks a pivotal milestone for BioDuro,” Spura said. “Our mission is to build the most advanced peptide platform, powered by exceptional science, state-of-the-art technology, and a world-class team, to meet the growing customer demand for complex peptide therapeutics worldwide.”
Over the years, BioDuro said that it has built technology platforms with peptide capabilities, including a DNA-encoded library screening device created in partnership with Atombeat Inc.
The AI-powered platform is said to be capable of exploring a digital library of more than one trillion potential peptide compounds to accelerate the early stages of drug discovery.
Spura was appointed CEO of BioDuro in 2024, bringing in more than two decades of experience in the life sciences and biotechnology sectors.
He joined BioDuro from San Diego-based biotech company Crown Bioscience, where he served as CEO for nearly five years.
Early in his career, Spura helped grow two startup companies that have since been acquired: Ingenuity Systems and ForteBio, now a part of Danaher Corp., which has a $150 billion market cap (NYSE: DHR).
