Meridian and Kindeva to partner to produce drug device CDMO

Meridian and Kindeva to partner to produce drug device CDMO Formerly owned by Pfizer Inc.- Meridian is a pioneering medical technology company that specializes in the manufacturing of rescue auto-injectors. In fact, the company has over 300 patents under its belt when it comes to autoinjector drug-device combination products. The company has over 6 decades of experience in the field. 

Before it was acquired by Altaris, the company was involved in a number of controversies regarding the pricing and manufacture of its popular epinephrine injector, EpiPen. Mylon, the company that holds EpiPen rights merged with the Upjohn unit of Pfizer in 2020 to form generics major Viatris, but these problems date back to as early as 2017. 

During a manufacturing inspection at Meridian’s facility near St. Louis in February 2017, the FDA discovered that over the past three years the company had amassed over 170 complaints about misfiring devices. The situation deteriorated and in September of the same year, the agency issued the company a warning letter for failure to address complaints regarding faulty EpiPens and EpiPen Jr. products. Consequently, Mylan had to recall thousands of Meridian-made epinephrine injectors when they failed to perform in life-and-death situations.

Later, in 2021, Meridian, Pfizer, and subsidiary Kings Pharmaceuticals had to also agree to pay $345 million under a proposed settlement that would resolve lawsuits against the company that alleged anticompetitive conduct on the company’s part when it came to EpiPen. Legal action in this regard can trace its roots back to 2016, when class action lawsuits were first brought against the company for stifling competition to defend against inflated prices.

On the other hand, Kindeva Drug Delivery which focuses on inhalation, transdermal, and intradermal drug delivery also came under the Altaris banner in 2020 under a $650 million deal. Kindeva was previously referred to as 3M Drug Delivery Systems and was owned by 3M Company. It can also be credited with producing the very first metered dose inhaler in the 1950s.

The healthcare investment firm, Altaris has brought these two firms together with the intention of combining their drug delivery capabilities, with expertise and technology spanning the parenteral to intradermal routes of administration.

Until closing, both firms will work independently and once the deal is finalized, they will work together to create a top global drug-device combination product contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO).

While a projected timeline for the merger has not been made public, the CEO of Meridian, Milton Boyer, has been announced as the CEO of the new combined company. 

“We are incredibly excited about the opportunities that will result from the combination of two companies with deep roots in complex drug delivery,” said Boyer. “The integrated, complementary offerings of Kindeva and Meridian create a CDMO with a broad portfolio of capabilities and proprietary technology platforms across multiple drug delivery formats, enabling us to serve customers and communities across multiple large and growing end markets.”

The aim of the new company is to tackle parenteral drug delivery projects with a particular emphasis on working on drug administration through inhalation, skin absorption, and just-under-the-skin injections.

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