Novartis' under-pressure Sandoz unit offloads Quebec plant to fast-growing Avara

Novartis has been looking to jettison some assets in its North American generics business, but as it turns out, it is a manufacturing facility in Canada that will be sold off first. Avara Pharmaceutical Services has inked a deal to buy Novartis Technical Operations’ sterile manufacturing facility and the nearby Sandoz Development Center on Sandoz’s Canada campus in Boucherville, Quebec. The site is the biggest injectables production facility in Canada and provides drugs to the Canadian healthcare system, mostly hospitals, said Avara, which will keep on the 500 workers. The companies declined to disclose the financial terms of the deal but a spokesperson for Novartis said in an email that as part of the transaction, Sandoz Canada and Avara will sign a long-term supply agreement that is designed to maintain supply, quality and service unchanged. They also will strike an agreement for development services.