Evonik sells selected Hanau pharmaceutical assets to ProChem, sharpening its healthcare focus on advanced drug delivery, lipids, and biosolutions.
Evonik has announced the sale of selected pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing assets located at its Hanau facility in Germany to the contract manufacturing specialist ProChem Group. The transaction, anticipated to be finalized on June 19, 2026, represents a strategic step in Evonik’s ongoing efforts to optimize its Health Care business portfolio and concentrate resources on high-growth, innovation-driven areas. For ProChem Group, the acquisition will significantly enhance its manufacturing capabilities, broaden its technological expertise, and enable it to provide a more extensive range of services to pharmaceutical industry customers.
The divestment is part of Evonik’s broader strategy to streamline its production footprint and prioritize investments in specialized healthcare technologies where the company sees the strongest potential for long-term growth and customer value. Moving forward, Evonik’s Health Care segment will focus more intensely on advanced oral and injectable drug delivery systems, precision biosolutions, innovative pharmaceutical lipids used in mRNA and gene delivery, and sophisticated cell culture ingredients.
Guido Skudlarek, Head of Evonik’s Health Care business line, emphasized that refining the company’s operational focus and aligning its asset base with strategic priorities will allow Evonik to deliver greater innovation and value to its pharmaceutical customers. By concentrating its efforts on technologically advanced and rapidly growing healthcare segments, the company aims to strengthen its competitive position in the global pharmaceutical supply chain.
The Hanau facility has played a significant role in supporting pharmaceutical manufacturers over many years through the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), intermediates, and pharmaceutical lipids. However, as part of its strategic transformation, Evonik discontinued keto acid production at the Hanau site at the end of 2025. The company has now centralized its pharmaceutical-grade keto and amino acid portfolio under its REXIM® brand, with manufacturing operations taking place at its facilities in Wuming, China, and Ham, France.
According to Thomas Hermann, Head of the REXIM® product line, this consolidation strengthens Evonik’s ability to provide reliable supply security and maintain a broad portfolio of high-quality products across multiple healthcare markets. By leveraging its global manufacturing network, Evonik seeks to improve efficiency while continuing to meet the evolving demands of pharmaceutical customers.
Importantly, Evonik will retain and continue operating its GMP-certified advanced pharmaceutical lipid production facility in Hanau. This facility specializes in producing clinical and small-scale commercial quantities of pharmaceutical lipids used in advanced drug delivery applications, including RNA-based therapeutics. The decision reflects Evonik’s commitment to maintaining a strong presence in fast-growing segments of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
For ProChem Group, the acquisition creates new opportunities to expand industrial activities at the Hanau location. The company will gain access to modern manufacturing infrastructure, established quality-controlled production processes, and highly developed technical facilities. Jörg Blumhoff, Chief Sales Officer of ProChem Group, stated that the acquisition will enable the company to significantly strengthen its service offerings and deliver more scalable, comprehensive, and regulatory-compliant manufacturing solutions to its customers.
ProChem operates as a multi-site contract manufacturing organization with extensive expertise in chemical production and analytical services. Its capabilities include chemical synthesis, distillation, extraction, drying, blending, grinding, sieving, packaging, and advanced analytical testing. The company serves a diverse customer base across industries including pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food additives, and specialty chemicals.
Despite the asset sale, Evonik remains a key partner to the pharmaceutical sector through its broad portfolio of functional excipients, drug delivery technologies, and contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) services. Its healthcare offerings include end-to-end solutions for small-molecule APIs, highly potent pharmaceutical compounds, intermediates, and advanced cell culture products, reinforcing its position as a leading provider of innovative pharmaceutical solutions.
Market Impact: Evonik’s decision to sell selected pharmaceutical ingredient production assets at its Hanau site to ProChem Group is expected to have a limited immediate impact on global chemical commodity prices tracked by ChemAnalyst, as the transaction primarily represents a strategic restructuring of manufacturing assets rather than a reduction in overall production capacity. Since ProChem will continue operating and utilizing the acquired GMP-compliant facilities, the supply of pharmaceutical intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from the site is expected to remain largely stable.
However, the move could have a positive long-term impact on high-value pharmaceutical chemicals, specialty intermediates, and advanced lipid-based materials. Evonik’s increased focus on advanced drug delivery technologies, mRNA and gene-delivery lipids, and cell-culture ingredients may stimulate greater investment and innovation in these fast-growing segments. Rising demand for specialized lipids, biotechnology-grade chemicals, and high-purity pharmaceutical ingredients could provide upward price support for certain niche chemicals due to higher quality requirements and limited specialized production capacities.
The consolidation of Evonik’s keto and amino acid portfolio under its REXIM® brand at facilities in China and France may also improve supply chain efficiency and strengthen product availability, reducing the likelihood of supply disruptions or sudden price volatility in these product categories.
For ChemAnalyst-tracked commodities such as pharmaceutical intermediates, amino acids, specialty chemicals, and fine chemicals, the overall price impact is expected to remain neutral to slightly bullish in the long term. The transition of assets to ProChem is likely to preserve market supply, while growing investments in advanced pharmaceutical technologies may gradually increase demand for premium-grade specialty chemicals. Therefore, no major short-term price fluctuations are anticipated, but selected high-value pharmaceutical materials could experience modest price appreciation as the sector shifts toward more advanced and technology-intensive applications.
