Biotechnology Acquisitions in 2019

Astellas Pharma has acquired Xyphos Biosciences, gaining Xyphos' ACCEL convertible-CAR technology platform and immuno-oncology talent. The deal included $120 million paid at closing and potential milestone payments bringing the total transaction value to up to $665 million.

Ampersand Capital Partners has acquired Peptides International and merged it into its existing portfolio company, New England Peptide, creating a combined provider of custom and catalog peptide synthesis services. The transaction is an add-on to Ampersand’s New England Peptide platform to expand scale, capabilities, and customer relationships across pharmaceutical, biotech and academic markets.

IK Investment Partners’ IK Small Cap II Fund has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Mabtech AB, a Stockholm-based specialist in immune monitoring and developer of monoclonal antibodies, ELISpot/FluoroSpot kits and the IRIS reader. Mérieux Equity Partners takes a minority stake alongside IK, founders and management remain invested, and EQT Credit provided senior secured (unitranche) financing to support the transaction.

Canopy Biosciences, a St. Louis-based multi-omic services company backed by Ampersand Capital Partners, has acquired Core Diagnostics, a California CLIA-certified biomarker analysis laboratory. The acquisition gives Canopy CLIA-certified laboratory capabilities to offer its multi-omic immune profiling services to clinical as well as preclinical and translational customers.

Arranta Bio has acquired Captozyme and integrated its Gainesville, Florida team and facilities to create a Center of Excellence for microbiome process and analytical development and early clinical supply. The acquisition expands Arranta's CDMO capabilities for live biotherapeutics and transfers Captozyme's clinical GMP capacity while Captozyme's enzyme therapeutic assets were spun out into Oxidien Pharmaceuticals.

Mesa Laboratories (NASDAQ: MLAB) acquired Gyros Protein Technologies Holding AB (GPT) from AP6 (Sixth Swedish National Pension Fund), Ampersand Capital Partners and individual shareholders for $180 million in cash. The acquisition, which establishes Mesa's new Biopharmaceutical Development platform, adds GPT's immunoassay and peptide synthesis instruments and consumables and is expected to contribute roughly $37–$40 million of revenue in the first 12 months (about 55% recurring).

Pritzker Family Business Interests, advised by The Pritzker Organization, participated in the first closing of Systems Oncology's Series B financing. The growth capital will fund discovery research and pre-clinical development of Systems Oncology's AI-driven cancer therapeutics platform, and TPO will take a board seat.

Edgewater Capital Partners has entered into an agreement to acquire Haematologic Technologies Incorporated, a Vermont-based provider of biologic products, reagents and GMP-compliant assay development and testing services for the biopharmaceutical industry. Edgewater said it will support HTI's next phase of growth and build the company as a premier outsourced services partner for biologics; financial terms were not disclosed.

Ampersand Capital Partners completed a majority recapitalization of New England Peptide to support the company's worldwide growth initiatives and expand its peptide synthesis capabilities. As part of the transaction, Dr. José de Chastonay was appointed Executive Chairman; founders Sam and Jennifer Massoni remain noted in the announcement.

Arcline Investment Management has acquired a majority interest in Akron Biotechnology LLC, a supplier of cGMP-compliant materials and services for cell and gene therapy manufacturers. Akron will remain led by founder and CEO Dr. Claudia Zylberberg, and Arcline plans to expand Akron's manufacturing capacity and pursue complementary acquisitions to build a platform in regenerative medicine.

Novo Holdings A/S made a $72 million Series E growth equity investment in LanzaTech to support expansion and commercialization of the company's carbon-recycling fuels and chemicals platform. Anders Bendsen Spohr of Novo Holdings will join LanzaTech's board as the investment aims to accelerate deployment of LanzaTech's sustainable fuels, chemicals and polyethylene produced from recycled carbon.

Elanco Animal Health acquired Montreal-based Prevtec Microbia, maker of the Coliprotec swine E. coli vaccine line, in an all-cash transaction of CAD $78.5 million (approx. $59.9M USD) plus contingent payments of up to CAD $21.5 million. The deal brings Prevtec's commercial vaccines and R&D pipeline into Elanco to expand its swine portfolio and provide non-antibiotic alternatives for swine producers globally.

EQT VIII has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority interest in Aldevron, a Fargo-based global supplier of plasmid DNA and other biologics, with founders, management and TA Associates retaining minority stakes. EQT will support Aldevron's growth through investments in production capacity, R&D and international expansion as the company continues to serve the gene therapy and broader biopharma markets.

EQT VIII (EQT Partners) has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Igenomix, a Valencia-headquartered leader in reproductive genetic services, from Charme Capital, management and other minority owners. Charme Capital and the Igenomix management team will reinvest significant minority stakes, and EQT will support the company's continued international expansion and R&D-led growth.

NEOMED-LABS / Pacific Biomarkers (NLPBI), an immunology-focused CRO, has acquired PAIRimmune, a preclinical immunology service provider based in Laval, Quebec. The acquisition strengthens NLPBI's assay development, ligand-binding and neutralization assay R&D capabilities, expands flow cytometry capacity, and enhances its preclinical and vaccine testing services.

WindRose Health Investors completed an equity recapitalization of Lykan Bioscience Holdings, LLC, a Hopkinton, Massachusetts-based contract manufacturing services organization focused on cell and gene therapy production and logistics. The investment provides capital to support growth and the build-out of a 60,000+ square foot cGMP facility to expand manufacturing capacity; terms were not disclosed.

Ampersand Capital Partners has made a growth equity investment in Vibalogics GmbH, a German CDMO specializing in development and GMP manufacturing of complex viral products. The investment will fund expansion of Vibalogics' process development and manufacturing capabilities and support broader growth in the U.S. and European markets.

Novo Holdings A/S agreed to invest up to £53.5 million in new ordinary shares of Oxford Biomedica plc, taking up to a 10.1% stake. The proceeds will be used to repay an existing Oaktree debt facility in full and to scale Oxford Biomedica's LentiVector platform and proprietary product portfolio.

Crown Laboratories, a privately held skin care company based in Johnson City, Tennessee, has acquired Xycrobe Therapeutics, a developer of skin microbiome-based biotherapeutic technology. Crown plans to integrate Xycrobe’s microbiome platform and scientific team into its R&D organization to expand therapeutic and consumer skin-care capabilities; financial terms were not disclosed.

Catalent, Inc. completed the $1.2 billion acquisition of Paragon Bioservices, Inc., a viral vector development and manufacturing partner for gene therapies, expanding Catalent’s biologics and gene therapy capabilities. Paragon’s Baltimore-area facilities and ~380 employees will join Catalent’s global biologics platform, while Catalent secured financing including incremental term loans and a convertible preferred issuance to Leonard Green & Partners to support the transaction.

Ampersand Capital Partners completed a minority growth equity investment in Genome Diagnostics B.V. (GenDx), a Utrecht-based provider of molecular diagnostic kits and analysis software for transplantation and companion diagnostics. The partnership will support GenDx's organic growth and M&A strategy; Ampersand's David Parker and Operating Partner Mike Evans joined GenDx's board.

Canopy Biosciences acquired Leipzig-based Zellkraftwerk GmbH, adding Zellkraftwerk’s ChipCytometry multiplex cytometry instruments and related services to Canopy’s multi-omics portfolio. Concurrently, Ampersand Capital Partners made a strategic growth investment in Canopy to support geographic expansion and product/service scale-up across the US, Europe and Asia.

PerkinElmer has acquired Cisbio Bioassays from Abénex (with Cisbio management supporting the sale). Cisbio, headquartered in Codolet, France, is a manufacturer of HTRF assay kits, reagents and custom assay services with more than 200 employees; the acquisition expands PerkinElmer's life‑sciences reagent and screening technology portfolio.

Asklepios BioPharmaceutical (AskBio) raised $235 million in new capital, with TPG Capital and Vida Ventures investing $225 million for a minority stake while AskBio’s founders and board co-invested $10 million. The funding will be used to accelerate clinical development and expand manufacturing capabilities, particularly for AskBio’s AAV gene therapy platform and pipeline.

Thermo Fisher Scientific agreed to acquire Brammer Bio, a viral vector CDMO focused on gene and cell therapies, for approximately $1.7 billion in cash. The deal expands Thermo Fisher’s pharma services and viral vector manufacturing capabilities to support high-growth gene and cell therapy markets and brings a team of nearly 600 employees into its pharma services business.

Summa Equity has acquired a majority stake in Olink Proteomics (Olink AB), a Uppsala-based life science company specializing in proteomics and protein biomarker discovery. The transaction is financed with senior secured/unitranche financing provided by EQT Credit and will support Olink's global scaling and continued product and service development.

bioMérieux has acquired Invisible Sentinel Inc., a Philadelphia-based developer of Veriflow molecular diagnostic tools for food and beverage pathogen and spoilage detection, for approximately $75 million in cash. The deal strengthens bioMérieux's food pathogen testing capabilities, complements its GENE-UP molecular food testing solution and expands its reach into new customer segments such as breweries and wineries.

Baird Capital invested in GreenLight Biosciences as part of a $50 million funding round led by S2G Ventures to scale the company's RNA production platform for agricultural and life-science applications. The capital will support expansion of GreenLight's scalable, low-cost RNA manufacturing capabilities and enable entry/expansion into pharmaceutical and crop-protection markets.