Tergus Expanding in Durham with New Commercial Manufacturing Facility

Durham-based Tergus Pharma, a service provider for topical pharmaceutical research, drug development, testing and manufacturing, expects to add 200 workers over the next five years after it converts a newly acquired 100,000-square-foot building into a new headquarters and commercial manufacturing facility. 

With the $35 million expansion, Tergus will become a contract development and manufacturing organization, or CDMO, providing comprehensive services from development through commercial manufacturing, the company announced. Most of the company’s new hires will support commercial manufacturing.

The expansion will be financed through a partnership with Great Point Partners, a health care investment firm in Greenwich, Conn. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

“For years we have discussed building a commercial facility,” said Vijendra Nalamothu, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Tergus. “The equity capital from Great Point Partners will enable us to do this, and we will be able to better serve our customers by offering end-to-end services including commercial manufacturing.”

Nalamothu said Great Point’s expertise and successful track record in growing pharmaceutical services companies was evident when the company approached Tergus about a partnership. “Great Point’s experience, network, and success in current and previous outsourced pharmaceutical services investments was a true differentiator,” he said.

Production capacity quadruples

Development of the new facility, located on a 17-acre site at 4018 Stirrup Creek Road in Durham, just outside Research Triangle Park, will begin in July and be completed in early 2020. The facility, to be compliant with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), will expand the company’s current production capacity by over 400 percent and will be capable of producing materials for phases 1 through 3 clinical trials and for commercial use, Tergus said.

“Tergus has differentiated itself as a leader in the complex topical dermatology development space that has been growing at ~15 percent per year,” said Rohan Saikia, managing director at Great Point Partners. “Tergus’ reputation within topical dermatology is unparalleled and we are thrilled that Tergus will now be a ‘one-stop-shop’ from clinical development to commercial manufacturing for all of their clients.”

Tergus provides topical formulation development, in vitro permeating testing, in vitro release testing, skin biology, analytical services, and clinical trial materials manufacturing services for branded and generic dermatology products.

The company, which employs about 70 people, occupies 20,000 square feet of space on Meridian Parkway in Durham. Its new facility will include offices, a general lab, multiple manufacturing and product lines, and product warehousing space.

Tergus said the expansion will help Tergus meet growing client demand for its services.

“This headquarters facility marks an important milestone for our company as we add a new service offering and deepen our relationship with our customers,” Nalamothu said. “We are thrilled to have found a new home that will allow us to grow in Durham, and we are excited about the opportunities ahead for Tergus Pharma.”

Last year Tergus acquired EnDev Laboratories, a dermatology-centric contract research organization based at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis. Acquiring the 26-employee company added early-phase drug development capabilities from lead compound selection to skin biology.

Since the acquisition, EnDev’s staff has been consolidated at Tergus’s Durham facility.

Tergus takes its name from the Latin term for skin.