Siegfried Holding buys Extractas Bioscience

Westbury poppy processor Extractas Bioscience has been bought by European development and manufacturing organisation Siegfried Holding.

SK Capital Partners agreed to sell Extractas Bioscience and two US sister businesses Noramcao and Purisys to US private equity firm SK Capital Partners in January, but the sales process has been lengthy.

Extractas Bioscience CEO Dr Ross Murdoch said a downturn in the global opioid industry made it difficult for SK Holdings to capitalise on the asset for shareholders in the short term and he was grateful it provided support through a difficult time over the past 10 years.

Mr Murdoch said that recent stabilisation in the industry, the demand for ingredients required for GLP-1 weight loss medications, changes in US politics and for the first time in a long time less supply than demand, made Extractas Bioscience an attractive package to sell at this time.

“Basically all of the stars aligned and Siegfried Holding will be an excellent fit for us, plus they’re looking to invest over the long term,” he said.

“We will be left as a relatively independent-operating company without change - this is not an area they have an abundance of knowledge in and they know Extractas Bioscience is good at what it does.

“Behind the scenes we will have access to better long-term investment and it will give us the strength to move into the future - I really don’t see a downside to what’s occurred, just an upside to us and our partners and our position in the marketplace.”

Mr Murdoch said there are some exciting research and development opportunities nearing fruition at the factory and the future is looking bright.

The Siegfried Group is a global life sciences company with sites in Switzerland, Germany, Spain, France, Malta, the USA and China. 

In 2024, the company achieved sales of CHF 1.295 billion and employed more than 3,800 people at 13 sites on three continents.

The company is active in manufacturing pharmaceutical APIs (and their intermediates) as well as drug products (tablets, capsules, sterile vials, ampoules, cartridges and ointments) for the pharmaceutical industry and provides development services.