On Thursday, Catalent reported that revenue for the three months ended March 31 was $523.6m (€477.5m), up 25% on the year earlier quarter. It also said quarterly earnings (EBIDTA) had increased 40% to $93.8m.
The contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) saw revenue growth in all divisions - softgel technologies, clinical supply services and drug delivery solutions – however, it was the latter unit that made the biggest contribution, some $234.6m up 27%.
Catalent said demand for its higher margin offerings, the contribution from recent acquisition Pharmatek and “increased volume from our biologics offerings of 6%” drove the division’s revenue growth in the quarter.
The CMO rejigged its delivery solutions unit – which includes its biologics manufacturing and cell line development activities businesses - last December.
Biologics growth
CFO Matthew Walsh highlighted the biologics business growth during Catalent’s conference call, pointing out that when the firm went public in 2014 large molecule-related activities generated 1% of its revenue, whereas now this type of work brings in 4%.
He said Catalent had seen growing demand for its biologics facility in Madison, Wisconsin – which it started to expand in November – citing recent deals with Roche, Moderna Therapeutics and Triphase Accelerator as examples.
Walsh also said biologics would continue to drive growth going forward, highlighting continued interest in Catalent’s SMARTag protein modification and conjugation technology to support his argument.
The comments are in keeping with what CEO John Chiminski said during Catalent's Q2 call in February, when he “The biologics business continues to be really growing in an incredibly fast rate."
Amgen exec joins Catalent
During the Q3 call Catalent announced it had appointed former Amgen executive Madhu Balachandran to its board, highlighting his biologics sector experience.
“Madhu is a seasoned executive who brings a wealth of biologics and operations experience which will be extremely valuable, as we continue to execute on our growth strategy” Chiminski said.