Argenta acquires Pen & Tec – combined knowledge, experience, and expanded service offerings for customers around the globe

Posted 7 December, 2022

On 6 July 2022, Argenta acquired 100% of the shares of Pen & Tec Consulting S.L.U. This is exciting news as both these companies have a shared mission of working in close partnership with customers by providing high-quality services to assist in taking their products to market.

The rationale behind the acquisition is that Argenta has a growth strategy to continue to improve services provided to global animal health and nutrition industry partners. With Pen & Tec on board, this will mean more long-term continuity for customers.

Argenta is the only combined global contract research organization (CRO) and contract development & manufacturing organization (CDMO) dedicated to animal health. The company was founded in New Zealand in 2006 and has continued to grow throughout the world with operations in New Zealand, the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. Pen & Tec will remain in the current location in Barcelona, Spain, which allows Argenta to further establish its presence within Europe.

The combined business will offer clients a wide range of global capabilities and product development services, with the Argenta and Pen & Tec teams working in partnership with customers to stimulate innovation in the feed and food business. Pen & Tec will particularly complement Argenta’s regulatory services teams based in Germany (Klifovet) and the United States, offering an unmatched level of expertise.

Will Downie, CEO of Argenta, said: “Pen & Tec’s expertise in feed and food is well-recognized in the industry. We are very excited about the combined expertise of Argenta and Pen & Tec in the animal health market. This powerful combination will provide tremendous value for customers around the globe.”

Regulatory requirements for Europe have become increasingly stringent and difficult to navigate over the last few years. With Pen & Tec´s established footprint in the EU they will be able to continue assisting customers in obtaining regulatory approval for animal feed related products. Pen & Tec´s wealth of knowledge and experience will further establish Argenta as an authority in regulatory affairs to benefit current and future customers.

Laura Payo Lewis, Regulatory Affairs Director – Animal Nutrition, said:

“I am excited for what the future holds for Pen & Tec Consulting within Argenta, and am confident that we will be able to achieve more together through our combined  knowledge, experience, and expanded service offerings. We will continue to advise companies on meeting regulatory requirements related to the food chain, and assisting in every step of the process of the product development journey until market access, including building top quality registration dossiers or running regulatory trials. Through an expanded geographical footprint, Argenta’s different business units can also offer commercial manufacturing and a variety of technology transfer solutions.”

Customers will benefit from the expanded global capabilities in regulatory affairs, product research and development with the two companies coming together. A global footprint, increased service breadth as well as long-term continuity are but a few of the benefits to customers. Argenta´s vision of “Healthier Animals, Sustainably” positions the company to be involved in the European Union Green Deal projects.

Elinor McCartney, founder of Pen & Tec, said: “Becoming part of Argenta provides our clients with access to a full range of services and solutions to get their products to market, and guarantees long-term business continuity for our customers as well as attractive career development opportunities for our global employee base and future talent. I am eager to continue our legacy as part of Argenta and am confident in a bright future together.”

Going forward, we will be able to provide a complex, full range of services to assist our customers with their Molecule to Market ideas.

Pen & Tec, as a part of the Argenta Group, will be able to cover the needs of our customers in the following areas as well:

• The evaluation of market potential and strategic opportunities
• Testing of the molecular entity to evaluate pilot efficacy and safety
• Testing of the final formulation to evaluate pivotal clinical studies
• Fully support the safeguarding the quality of the product from R&D to commercialisation
• Commercial manufacturing in one of the three GMP-certified sites in New Zealand, the UK and the US

Ing. Justyna Pałasińska, Regulatory Affairs Director – Human Nutrition, said: “Argenta is focused on animal health and nutrition. Nevertheless, I believe that they will be able to provide added value to Pen & Tec food clients as well. Their experience in manufacturing & product development can surely be extrapolated onto the food side, especially in regard to novel foods. I also look forward to introducing Argenta to the world of human nutrition & how we can grow in this area together.”

We encourage customers to get in contact as this will be the first step in discovering new opportunities for their business. Our team is standing by to offer tailored solutions and exceptional service.

Customers can keep in touch with us through multiple channels. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter and stay up to date on the latest from Pen & Tec as well as news from the industry. We are active on social media and customers can follow us on Linkedin, Twitter as well as Youtube.

Apart from regulatory services, we also host training sessions for the industry in the form of seminars and training video courses.

We are excited for what the future holds and believe that this new acquisition will be an invaluable partner for animal health and nutrition customers globally.

By Dawn Botha, Technical Marketing Manager at Pen & Tec Consulting and

Annemieke de Keijzer,Global Head of Communications & Marketing at Argenta Global