Evonik finalizes acquisition of Boehringer Ingelheim's RESOMER® business

• Extending its technology base to increase value creation and boost growth
• Strengthening its position as a strategic partner to the pharmaceuticals industry 

Evonik Industries formally acquired the entire RESOMER® business of Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG on March 1, 2011. This acquisition involved transferring the entire product portfolio comprising standard and customer-specific polymers for medical applications and pharmaceutical formulations to Evonik's Pharma Polymers Business Line. The purchase agreement was signed in December 2010. The companies agreed not to disclose details of the purchase price. "This transaction strengthens our position as a strategic partner to the pharmaceuticals industry. We view the pharmaceuticals market as a strategic core business in which we'll continue to grow, both organically and through acquisitions," said Dr. Klaus Engel, the chairman of Evonik Industries AG's Executive Board.

Based on its polymer platform EUDRAGIT®, the Pharma Polymers Business Line is developing and researching customer-specific solutions for oral delivery forms. By acquiring the new RESOMER® Product Line, Pharma Polymers is opening up an application field in parenteral delivery forms, for example, for formulating innovative biotechnological active substances. Thus, Evonik is following the diversification strategy of several key customers from the pharmaceuticals industry and is opening up for itself the market for functional medicinal products. RESOMER® polymers are based first of all on the natural monomers lactic acid and glycolic acid, and they are fully degradable. Based on RESOMER®, depot pharmaceutical forms can be formulated to release the active substance in the body over several months.

In recent years, Evonik has strengthened its position as a producer of active pharmaceutical substances. In the United States, it took over Eli Lilly’s more than 600-employee-strong Tippecanoe site. This facility produces active substances and the associated intermediates for the pharmaceuticals industry. A new medical products plant has been built in Nanning, China, too. Customers also benefit from the Group's global research and production network and the extensive services it offers.