Deal-Making Archives - Page 12 of 59 - BioProcess InternationalBioProcess International

Pfizer to acquire Trillium in $2.3bn deal

Pfizer bolsters its oncology capabilities through the acquisition of Trillium, which it says will add investigational immuno-therapeutics for cancer. Pfizer, which invested $25 million in Trillium Therapeutics in September 2020, will acquire all outstanding shares of the immune-oncology firm in a deal worth $2.26 billion. “Pfizer is strengthening its individual therapeutic areas with capabilities and breakthrough medicines to enhance leadership positions in priority areas,” a spokesperson for Pfizer told BioProcess Insider. “The acquisition of Trillium Therapeutics strengthens Pfizer’s leadership in…

M&A rife in manufacturing space, driven by big CDMOs and PE

by Dan Stanton

The CDMO space is perceived as fragmented and particularly lucrative says GlobalData, with private equity (PE) firms and large established players investing heavily in the sector. A report from data and analytics company GlobalData entitled ‘M&A in the Contract Manufacturing Industry: Implications and Outlook – 2021 Edition’ has found that dealmaking in the sector has been particularly rife over the past few years, predominantly led by PE firms and big contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs). “Investors perceive the CMO industry as…

Moderna inks deal to build mRNA facility in Canada

by Millie Nelson

Moderna has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Canadian government to construct an mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will see Moderna build a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine plant, which aims to provide Canada with support to respond rapidly to current and future pandemics. While it is not yet confirmed where the plant will be located in Canada, the firm is looking to replicate this business model in other countries. “As a company, we are committed…

MaxCyte to support Sana’s ex vivo cell therapy plans

by Millie Nelson

Sana will use MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation technology and ExPERT platform to drive its hypo-immune cell therapy pipeline. The agreement, of which financial details have not been disclosed, sees MaxCyte sign a clinical and commercial license with Sana Biotechnology. Sana will gain non-exclusive commercial and clinical rights to use MaxCyte’s Flow Electroporation technology and ExPERT platform and in return, MaxCyte is eligible to receive licensing fees and milestone payments. “MaxCyte’s ExPERT platform is based on the company’s proprietary Flow Electroporation,” MaxCyte…

Appia partners with Kite to develop cell therapies for blood and bone cancers

by Millie Nelson

Kite will develop CAR-iNKT cells for the treatment of haematological malignancies using Appia Bio’s ACUA technology platform. The deal, which could be worth up to $875 million, will see Appia responsible for preclinical research of two hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) derived chimeric antigen receptor-engineered invariant natural killer T (CAR-iNKT) product candidates manufactured with CARs provided by Kite. “The core of the partnership is that we will bring together Appia’s cells and Kite’s CARs, putting us right at innovation’s edge. We…

Advanced Instruments buying cell line dev tech firm Solentim

by BPI Staff

Advanced Instruments will add antibody and cell-based therapy workflow tech through the acquisition of Solentim. “The coming together of Advanced Instruments’ and Solentim’s core technologies, will be a powerful combination in support of clonal cell line development,” Byron Selman, CEO of Advanced Instruments, said. “With Solentim, we are acquiring innovative technologies that will enhance our ability to support customers in these workflows. We are also adding to our technical capabilities with the addition of imaging, advanced AI capabilities and automation…

Thermo: Cell & gene therapy key to further growth in 2021

by Gareth Macdonald

Thermo Fisher Scientific says cell and gene therapy contracting, PPD and ongoing CAPEX investments will drive growth. The tech and services firm outlined its plans during a Q2 call, explaining its belief that the cell and gene therapy sector prompted its recent investment in a manufacturing center at the University of California San Francisco. CEO Mark Casper predicted the partnership would “will lead to new capabilities for our customers and ultimately better outcomes for patients.” He added a desire to…

Bayer buys Vividion for $1.5bn in ‘arm’s length acquisition’

by Millie Nelson

Bayer bolsters its drug discovery capabilities through the acquisition of Vividion, which it says will benefit from an arm’s length business model. The deal – which could be worth up to $2 billion – strengthens Bayer’s small molecule oncology and immunology targets through the addition of Vividion Therapeutics’ chemoproteomic technology. According to German pharma giant Bayer, the platform can recognize unidentified binding pockets on protein targets by screening chemical probes against the human proteome to establish selectivity. The platform is…

Sanofi bolsters mRNA capabilities with Translate buy

by Millie Nelson

Sanofi will acquire its partner Translate Bio for $38.00 per share, as it looks to drive mRNA technology for therapeutics and vaccines. Under the terms of the deal, Sanofi will acquire Translate for a total equity value of approximately $3.2 billion as the French pharma giant builds on its plans to invest €400 million ($475 million) annually into what it describes as its ‘mRNA Center of Excellence’ to accelerate R&D of next-generation vaccines. In 2018, Sanofi teamed up with Translate…

Sartorius buys media firm Xell among ‘lively’ M&A environment

by Dan Stanton

Xell AG is only Sartorius’s second acquisition this year despite CEO Joachim Kreuzburg saying his firm look at numerous &A activities each week. The €50 million ($60 million) deal sees Sartorius add German firm Xell to its subgroup Sartorius Stedim Biotech, extending its media and feed supplement business for cell cultures. Xell also expands Sartorius’ analytical services for characterizing, screening, and quantifying media components, as well as for optimizing media composition. “With this acquisition, we are expanding our current media…