Johnson matthey buys another API business

Johnson Matthey has acquired Cascade Biochem (Cork, Ireland), a small manufacturer of prostaglandin active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). Johnson Matthey would paid an initial £2.75 million ($4.25 million), but the price was adjusted upto a maximum of $8 million, based on subsequent performance. Prostaglandins are complex, chiral molecules that have applications in cardiovascular, ophthalmic, and gastrointestinal drugs. The company expected high growth as prostaglandin-based drugs would be introduced into the market and existing drugs would come off patent.