Tag Archives: Biotechnology

LePure Biotech Closes Series C Financing Co-Led by Novo Holdings, General Atlantic, and Goldman Sachs Asset Management

General Atlantic
  • LePure Biotech is a leading provider of high-quality and innovative single-use bioprocessing solutions in China
  • Proceeds will be used to continue to accelerate product innovation and advance LePure Biotech’s go-to-market strategy

Shanghai, China – January 17, 2023 — Shanghai LePure Biotech Co., Ltd. (“LePure” or “LePure Biotech”) announced the completion of its Series C financing from a consortium of world-renowned investors co-led by Novo Holdings, General Atlantic and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, with participation from existing investors including Highlight Capital, Bayland Capital, HM Capital. LePure plans on using this funding to accelerate product innovation, promote overseas expansion, and enhance the Company’s competitiveness and influence in the global industrial chain.

LePure is a leading bioprocessing platform in China, offering full-fledged product solutions that enable the manufacturing of macromolecular drugs. LePure was founded in 2011 by Chairwoman Qin Sunxing, a seasoned entrepreneur with deep commercial and scientific experience in the bioprocessing field. Concurrent with this round of financing, LePure has completed its acquisition of QuaCell Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (“QuaCell”), marking LePure’s entry into the cell culture media business which carries substantial commercial synergies with LePure’s existing franchise. As a result, LePure’s broadened product suite now includes single use bioprocessing consumables, bioreactors, filtration and purification solutions, as well as cell culture media offerings.

As one of the earliest domestic providers of single use consumables and equipment for biopharmaceutical companies in China, LePure has kept its focus on improving research and development to deliver high-quality products for its customers. With significant progress made in basic materials R&D, product development and manufacturing capacity expansion, LePure is well positioned to capture industry growth opportunities on the back of therapeutic innovation and new drug launches.

Frank Wang, co-founder and CEO of LePure Biotech, said, “Biopharmaceutical upstream processing consumables play an important role in biological drugs R&D and production. Since its establishment, LePure Biotech has remained committed to building sustainable scientific research and innovation capabilities by improving drug development efficiency, ensuring stable and secure pilot phase production, and supporting the commercial-scale launch of new drug products. We are excited to have global investors like Novo Holdings, General Atlantic and Goldman Sachs Asset Management leading this round of financing and we look forward to our future collaboration. With the start of this new chapter, LePure will continue to focus on technological innovation and enhancing our global competitiveness to best serve our customers.”

Dr. Amit Kakar, Senior Partner and Head of Novo Holdings Asia commented: “LePure Biotech is an emerging star in the global bioprocessing space. Novo Holdings is excited to become LePure Biotech’s partner as the Company continues to gain strong momentum and profound recognition in the industry. This investment is deeply rooted within our deep expertise in the life science industry globally, and we look forward to working with LePure Biotech to play an integral role in the global pharmaceutical supply chain by offering high quality solutions and become one of the most trusted bioprocessing companies in China and globally.”

Lefei Sun, Managing Director and Head of Healthcare for China at General Atlantic, said, “Single-use bioprocessing consumables and equipment have significant market prospects in China. Since its establishment in 2011, LePure has not only enjoyed a first-mover advantage, but has also created formidable technical barriers for its competitors. The LePure team has a deep understanding of the global biopharmaceutical industry value chain, is positioned to quickly respond to market demands and shows strong expansion potential in international markets.”

Kevin Xu, a Managing Director leading healthcare and life science investments in Greater China at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said, “Single-use bioprocessing has become widely adopted by biopharma companies globally given its operating efficiencies and rising demand for flexible manufacturing. We look forward to leveraging our global platform and capabilities to support LePure’s expansion.”

About LePure Biotech

Shanghai LePure Biotech was established in 2011. It empowers biopharma customers with high quality and innovative bioprocess solutions. LePure has comprehensive capabilities in R&D, manufacturing, and commercial operation. LePure is a customer centric company with commitment to high quality and continuous improvement. Driven by technology innovation, the company wants to be the most reliable partner of global biopharma. LePure’s product suite now includes single use system, filtration and purification solutions，cell culture media offerings after it acquired QuaCell in November 2022. Further information: https://www.lepure-bio.com.

About Novo Holdings A/S

Novo Holdings is a holding and investment company that is responsible for managing the assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The purpose of Novo Holdings is to improve people’s health and the sustainability of society and the planet by generating attractive long-term returns on the assets of the Novo Nordisk Foundation.

Wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Novo Holdings is the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk and Novozymes (the Novo Group companies) and manages an investment portfolio, with a long-term return perspective. Novo Holdings invests in life science companies of all stages of development and also manages a broad portfolio of equities, bonds, real estate and infrastructure assets as well as private equity investments. As of year-end 2021, Novo Holdings had total assets of USD 106 billion. Further information: www.novoholdings.dk.

About General Atlantic

General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm with more than four decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 445 growth companies throughout its history. Established in 1980 to partner with visionary entrepreneurs and deliver lasting impact, the firm combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to scale innovative businesses around the world. General Atlantic currently has over $73 billion in assets under management inclusive of all products as of September 30, 2022, and more than 215 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Miami, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, Stamford and Tel Aviv. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com.

About Goldman Sachs Asset Management Growth Equity

Bringing together traditional and alternative investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management provides clients around the world with a dedicated partnership and focus on long-term performance. As the primary investing area within Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), we deliver investment and advisory services for the world’s leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, drawing from our deeply connected global network and tailored expert insights, across every region and market—overseeing over $2.4 trillion in assets under supervision worldwide as of September 30, 2022. Driven by a passion for our clients’ performance, we seek to build long-term relationships based on conviction, sustainable outcomes, and shared success over time.

 

Media Contacts

Emily Japlon & Gurion Kastenberg
General Atlantic media@generalatlantic.com

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Gimv exits Biolam to its management backed by investors after a fast and successful growth trajectory into a leading French group of clinical testing labs

GIMV

Topic: Divestment

Biolam and Gimv today announce an important step in the growth trajectory of Biolam. Following the group’s fast and successful development, combining organic and external growth, Gimv is selling its stake in Biolam to its founding team, backed by private equity investors. The founders, the management and their new partners will further focus on quality of service and care, and expansion in France.

In 2019, Gimv acquired a stake in Biolam 80 (www.groupebiolam.fr), an emerging group of clinical testing laboratories operating in the city of Amiens, together with Daniel Attias. The original plan, co-designed with Daniel Attias, aimed at creating a leading player in the Hauts-de-France region, in terms of size, clinical performance and level of service.

From the start Biolam has grown very quickly thanks to a combination of laboratory creation in under-serviced locations, an important enabler for accessible quality care, and strategic acquisitions. In parallel, the group continuously invested in staff, care organization, diagnostics equipment and IT backbone, serving its ambitious medical project. Altogether, these efforts enabled Biolam to become a leading laboratory group in the Hauts-de-France and Normandie region with a solid foundation for continued success.

The company currently operates a network of more than 30 labs, with 4 technical platforms and has a rich pipeline of active acquisition targets. Since Gimv’s investment in 2019, Biolam has signed 7 add-on acquisitions and has built a leading and high-quality diagnostics organization.

The transaction announced today will strengthen the company’s relentless focus on quality of service and care and expansion in its regions. The management team, with its new partners, will further invest in its organization while growing its laboratory network in order to build an even better diagnostic company for all stakeholders.

The transaction has no significant impact on the Net Asset Value of Gimv as of 30 September 2022. No further financial details will be disclosed.

Gautier Lefebvre, Partner at Gimv, and Kevin Klein, Principal at Gimv, state: “ We are extremely proud of having partnered with Biolam and Daniel Attias for its growth strategy where focus on quality diagnostics and service level to practitioners have always been paramount, especially during the pandemic. Since the start, we have been perfectly aligned with the management team, resulting in an optimal ability to build the organization and to seize growth opportunities. We are grateful for the successful and excellent cooperation with the management of Biolam and wish them – together with their new partners – all the best in their further growth trajectory.”

Daniel Attias, Chairman of the Biolam Group, says: “We have exceeded the targets we initially set ourselves with the Gimv team, which is a sign of a very effective collaboration. We are thankful for the successful partnership with Gimv that enabled the development of Biolam into an established and leading laboratory group with solid foundations for the next growth phase. and look forward to further grow with our new partners.”

 

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Gimv

Karel Oomsstraat 37, 2018 Antwerpen, Belgium

www.gimv.com

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Industrifonden leads 120 million SEK financing round in Guard Therapeutics 

Industriefonden

We’re happy to welcome Guard Therapeutics, a Swedish biotech company that develops new therapies for acute kidney injury, to our portfolio. The company just announced they’ve raised 120 million SEK in new capital from a syndicate led by Industrifonden and including Swedbank Robur Fonder, Strand Kapitalförvaltning and Arctic Asset Management.

Guard Therapeutics develops novel therapies for diseases with a large medical need for more effective treatments. The company’s investigational drug RMC-035 recently received FDA Fast Track designation and is being developed as a kidney protective treatment in connection with open heart surgery. The newly raised capital will be used to secure the completion of the ongoing global phase 2 study (AKITA) and to finance selected preparatory phase 3 activities including CMC development.

Tobias Agervald, CEO at Guard Therapeutics, says: “We’re thrilled by the interest and response from a broad range of specialist and institutional investors. The capital provided by the syndicate led by Industrifonden will significantly broaden our investor base and enables us to run the phase 2 study in cardiac surgery to completion and initiate targeted preparatory activities for a subsequent registrational study.”

Fredrik Lehmann, Venture Partner at Industrifonden, says: “We are excited to support Guards’ mission to provide breakthrough treatment for patients with acute kidney injury.” 

Peter Wolpert, CEO at Industrifonden, adds: “Our investment focus is on private companies, but we’re truly impressed by the progress of Guard Therapeutics under Dr Agervalds leadership during the last years.” 

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Kinnevik leads USD 150 million private placement in Recursion with USD 75 million investment

Kinnevik

Kinnevik AB (publ) (“Kinnevik”) today announced that it has invested USD 75m in Recursion, a US-based clinical-stage biotechnology company industrializing drug discovery by decoding biology. Recursion is listed on NASDAQ under the ticker RXRX.

Recursion is a biopharma company mapping and navigating biology and chemistry with the goal of bringing better medicines to patients faster and at lower cost. Recursion leverages sophisticated machine-learning algorithms to analyse a collection of trillions of searchable relationships across biology and chemistry. With its massive experimental and computational scale, Recursion is uniting technology, biology and chemistry to advance the future of medicine.

Kinnevik has deepened its exposure and expertise in healthcare substantially over the last several years and remains committed to solving some of the most pressing challenges. One area Kinnevik had yet to address was the declining productivity in drug discovery and development, which leads to rising costs, lower efficiency, and unmet patient needs. It is, therefore, a natural extension of our healthcare strategy to invest in companies building and utilising a combination of AI and biotech to discover drugs that can treat or cure diseases in a faster, cheaper, and more effective way.

Kinnevik led the USD 150m private placement with its investment of USD 75m. Kinnevik will hold 7,653,061 shares of class A common stock of the company, corresponding to an economic ownership stake of approximately 4.2 percent.

Natalie Tydeman, Senior Investment Director at Kinnevik, commented: “Recursion represents an exciting combination of highly sophisticated biotechnology, a vast and valuable proprietary database of relatable biological and chemical data, together with an advanced machine learning platform, resulting in a superior drug discovery process. We are excited by Recursion’s mission to decode biology to radically improve lives, and we look forward to being long term partners to Recursion’s visionary and ambitious management team on this journey.”

For further information, visit www.kinnevik.com or contact:

Torun Litzén, Director Investor Relations
Phone +46 (0)70 762 00 50
Email press@kinnevik.com

Kinnevik’s ambition is to be Europe’s leading listed growth investor, and we back the best digital companies for a reimagined everyday and to deliver significant returns. We understand complex and fast-changing consumer behaviours, and have a strong and expanding portfolio in healthtech, consumer services, foodtech and fintech. As a long-term investor, we strongly believe that investing in sustainable business models and diverse teams will bring the greatest returns for shareholders. We back our companies at every stage of their journey and invest in Europe, with a focus on the Nordics, and in the US. Kinnevik was founded in 1936 by the Stenbeck, Klingspor and von Horn families. Kinnevik’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm’s list for large cap companies under the ticker codes KINV A and KINV B.

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Adelis Equity Partners raises Fund Continuation Vehicle for SSI Diagnostica Group, Enabling Transformational Acquisition

Adelis Equity

Adelis Equity Partners (“Adelis”) has raised a Fund Continuation Vehicle (“FCV”) to acquire SSI Diagnostica Group (“SSID”), a portfolio company of Adelis Equity Partners Fund I, alongside the company’s management and board, Adelis Equity Partners Fund III and the Adelis team. In connection with the transaction, SSID completed a transformational acquisition of TechLab Inc.

SSID, headquartered in Denmark, is a global in-vitro diagnostics company that has grown significantly since Adelis invested in the business in 2016 through innovation and new product development as well as strategic M&A. SSID joined forces with San Diego based CTK Biotech in 2020, significantly broadening the group’s rapid testing operations and expanding its geographic footprint beyond SSID’s strong position in Europe to also include emerging markets.

By now joining forces with the Virginia-based leading gastrointestinal diagnostics company TechLab, SSID broadens its infectious disease product offering further and lays the foundation for accelerated growth in the US.

The joint group will have combined annual sales of more than USD 160 million, more than six times the size of SSID when Adelis invested in the business in 2016.

“We believe rapid diagnostics and self-testing will continue to change healthcare. The restructuring of our ownership has enabled the acquisition of TechLab, but importantly also gives the group significant capital for further acquisitions and enables Adelis to continue to support the business for many more years” says Rasmus Molander at Adelis.

In the transaction, Adelis Equity Partners Fund I fully exits its investment in SSID to a consortium consisting of the FCV, Adelis’ latest flagship fund and affiliates, the company’s management and board, and the Adelis team.

The FCV, which is managed by Adelis, is backed by several institutional investors, including StepStone Group as the lead investor, and Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (“LACERA”) as junior lead.

Adelis was advised by Lazard, Akin Gump, Kromann Reumert, Vinge, White & Case, Gernandt & Danielsson, Troutman Pepper, Boston Consulting Group, and PWC on the transaction.

About Adelis Equity Partners

Adelis is a growth partner for well-positioned, Nordic companies. Adelis partners with management and/or owners to build businesses in growth segments and with strong market positions. Since raising its first fund in 2013, Adelis has been one of the most active investors in the Nordic middle-market, making 35 platform investments and more than 150 add-on acquisitions. Adelis today manages approximately €2.5 billion in capital. For more information, please visit www.adelisequity.com.

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Novo Holdings Portfolio Company F2G enters strategic collaboration with Shionogi to commercialise its new antifungal agent Olorofim in Europe and Asia

Novo Holdings

  • Deal value includes upfront payment of US$100 million with F2G eligible for additional regulatory and commercial milestones of up to US$380 million, as well as double-digit royalties on net sales and share development costs

  • Validation of Novo Holdings’ strategy to identify and invest in promising European biotech opportunities

Novo Holdings A/S, a leading international life sciences investor, has announced that its portfolio company F2G Ltd. (F2G) has entered into a strategic collaboration with Shionogi & Co., Ltd. (Shionogi) to develop and commercialise its antifungal agent olorofim for invasive fungal infections, in Europe and Asia.

F2G is a UK, US and Austria based biotech company focused on the discovery and development of novel therapies to treat life-threatening invasive fungal infections. Novo Ventures, the venture capital team at Novo Holdings, has led and participated in a series of financings since 2016. Naveed Siddiqi, Senior Partner at Novo Holdings, serves as a Board Member of F2G and Eric Snyder, Partner at Novo Holdings, as Board Observer.

Olorofim is a novel oral antifungal therapy developed by F2G to treat invasive aspergillosis (IA) and other rare mold infections. Olorofim works through a unique mechanism of action, different from all existing classes of antifungals, exerting fungicidal activity through inhibition of the pyrimidine synthesis pathway. Olorofim represents the first truly novel antifungal class developed in the past 20 years and is the only antifungal medication to be awarded a Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) for multiple indications by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

The world market for antifungal agents is currently worth in excess of US$6 billion with consistent annual growth driven by year-on-year increases in the susceptible immune compromised patient population. Increases in cancer, organ transplants and use of potent drugs, including broad spectrum antibiotics has led to significant increases in fungal infections. Fungi are now recognised as a major issue in several respiratory conditions, being responsible for exacerbations of symptoms in asthma, COPD and bronchiectasis patients. This is likely to increase the use of antifungal drugs over the coming years. F2G believes that its novel agent, olorofim, and subsequent agents, will address some of the many challenges which face the treating physician and the patient with invasive fungal infections.

Olorofim is currently in a Phase 2b open-label study and Phase 3 randomized study (“OASIS”).

Naveed Siddiqi, Board Director of F2G and Senior Partner, Novo Holdings, said: “Globally there is a high unmet medical need for novel antifungal therapies that are active against resistant and refractory infections and also against pathogenic fungal species which have been difficult to successfully treat historically. F2G is developing a completely new class of antifungal agents called the orotomides.  The strategic collaboration with Shionogi is an exciting development for the Company as it offers the prospect of olorofim, once approved, to reach even more patients around the world. This is Novo Ventures’ second anti-infective investment in 2022 that has attracted interest from partners in the pharmaceutical industry.”

Francesco Maria Lavino, Chief Executive Officer of F2G, said: “This collaboration will enable us to progress the development of olorofim with a regional partner.  Shionogi has a proven track record in both global drug development and business development and we look forward to working closely together while we now concentrate our efforts on the development and commercialisation of olorofim for the US market.”

Since January 2020, Novo Ventures has helped deploy over US$1.1 billion in life science investments.  The team consists of highly experienced investment professionals who operate from Copenhagen, Boston, London and San Francisco. The team advises on investments in early-stage startups through later stage crossover financings.  On the public side, the team helps catalyse IPOs and follow-on financings as well as participation in the open market.

About F2G

F2G is a biotech company with operations in the UK, US, and Austria focused on the discovery and development of novel therapies to treat life-threatening invasive fungal infections. F2G has discovered and developed a completely new class of antifungal agents called the orotomides which selectively target a key enzyme in the de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway. This is a completely different mechanism from that of the currently marketed antifungal agents and gives the orotomides fungicidal activity against a broad range of rare and resistant fungal mold infections. For more details, please visit the F2G web site.

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Patricia Industries funds strategic add-on acquisition by Advanced Instruments

Investor

Advanced Instruments, a leading global provider of analytical instruments, consumables, software and services for the biopharmaceutical, clinical and food & beverage industries, has signed an agreement to acquire Artel, a leading provider of calibration and validation instruments, consumables, software and services used by life science laboratories.

The acquisition of Artel adds to Advanced Instruments a highly complementary, differentiated and innovative portfolio of liquid handling analytical instruments and consumables, and significantly expands the company’s R&D capabilities within the rapidly growing liquid handling market.

For the twelve-month period ending December 2021, Artel revenues and adjusted EBITDA were approximately USD 20m and USD 5m, respectively. Average annual growth for the past three years amounts to 17 percent.

The total consideration amounts to an upfront payment of approximately USD 85m on a cash- and debt-free basis, and additional payments of up to USD 55m subject to achievement of certain 2022 revenue targets. The consideration will be funded with equity from Patricia Industries, Advanced Instruments’ balance sheet cash, and external debt. The acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter 2022.

“We are very pleased with the performance of Advanced Instruments so far during our ownership, including the recent acquisition of Solentim. With the acquisition of Artel, the company creates a very strong platform of highly innovative instrumentation, consumables and services targeting fast growing sectors, such as the biopharmaceutical industry. Growing our great platform companies remains a key priority for Patricia Industries, and we continue to allocate significant capital toward this”, comments Investor President and CEO Johan Forssell.

“We are excited to announce another strategic add-on acquisition for Advanced Instruments. We see strong complementarity between the two businesses and significant opportunities to use the strength of their combined commercial and R&D capabilities to drive growth and create long-term value”, says Christian Cederholm, Head of Patricia Industries.

About Patricia Industries
Patricia Industries is a long-term owner that invests in companies and works to develop each company to its full potential. Patricia Industries is a part of the industrial holding company Investor AB, whose main owner is the Wallenberg Foundations.

About Advanced Instruments
Advanced Instruments is a global provider of analytical products and services for the clinical, biopharmaceutical, and food & beverage markets. With a strong brand reputation and deep customer relationships, it is recognized as the global authority on osmolality testing, and its products are the standard within each of its core markets. Advanced Instruments is based in Norwood, Massachusetts and is majority owned by Patricia Industries.

About Artel
Artel is a leading provider of analytical instruments, consumables, software and services used by life science laboratories within the biopharmaceutical, clinical and diagnostics industries to calibrate, validate and automate their liquid handling processes. Artel’s technologies are recognized globally for enabling its customer base to work more accurately and efficiently, and bring valuable therapies to patients more quickly. Artel is headquartered in Westbrook, Maine.

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Gimv invests in BioConnection, a contract development and manufacturing organisation for injectable (bio)pharmaceutical products

GIMV

Topic: Investment

Gimv invests in BioConnection alongside current shareholders Pharming Group, Mibiton and management with the aim to accelerate the next stage of growth, and to facilitate further innovation in order to continue offering the best quality services to clients. The BOM has supported BioConnection since inception and has sold its shares.

BioConnection is a niche contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) focused on fill and finish and freeze-drying of injectable (bio)pharmaceutical products The company operates from its FDA & GMP approved manufacturing site in Oss (NL) and is one of the few niche players with both clinical and commercial manufacturing capabilities.

BioConnection operates in the fast-growing aseptic fill & finish market, which is a specialised type of manufacturing for (liquid) final dosage form of drugs requiring an aseptic environment, high quality equipment, and freeze-drying expertise. Especially freeze drying requires specialised expertise, as it is a highly complex technology that stabilises drugs and improves shelf-life (reducing waste and improving access to medicine). Accordingly, (bio)pharmaceutical companies increasingly rely on BioConnection for these services, due to BioConnection’s expertise, infrastructure and flexible set-up (providing tailored offering).

Due to the fast growing (bio)pharmaceutical industry, the growing capacity shortage in the whole sector, and the shift towards outsourced production for pharmaceutical companies, the position of CDMOs has become even more important. In order for BioConnection to keep providing the highest quality service to its customers, significant investments are foreseen for the coming period. Investments will be made to improve the overall production capacity, to further increase the flexibility of production, to remain fully compliant with the constantly increasing regulatory demands and to insource additional services such as formulation, analytical testing and packaging.

Together with the co-shareholders Pharming Group, Mibiton and management, Gimv looks forward to supporting BioConnection in its next growth phase by further investing in the organisation and infrastructure to increase the production capacity and to further extend services to customers. Furthermore, Gimv will leverage its life sciences network to further support BioConnection.

Elderd Land, Partner at Gimv, states: “We are very impressed by what Alexander and his team have built over the last decade. The quality of the facilities, the ability to serve and grow at small and medium sized companies and the contribution to the overall development in the pharma space (i.e. personalised medicine) is unparalleled in this size bracket. We are very much looking forward to supporting BioConnection through its next growth phase and to continuing to build this already leading company.”

Alexander Willemse, CEO of BioConnection, says: “We are happy to have found a partner for the next stage of BioConnection. With the new shareholding structure BioConnection is able to fund and further develop our people, infrastructure and service offering. This enables us to fulfil the needs of innovative (bio)pharmaceutical companies by offering the highest quality CDMO services on the market.”

 

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Gimv

Karel Oomsstraat 37, 2018 Antwerpen, Belgium

www.gimv.com

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American Laboratory Products Company Merges with GeneProof

Ampersand

SALEM, N.H. and BRNO, Czech Republic, April 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — American Laboratory Products Company, Ltd. (“ALPCO”), a specialty in vitro diagnostics company, today announced a merger with GeneProof a.s. (“GeneProof”), a leading molecular diagnostics company based in Brno, Czech Republic. The combination creates a global market leader in the diagnostic products market, with broad capabilities spanning novel immunoassay testing kits, real-time PCR testing products, and automated laboratory instrumentation solutions.

GeneProof was founded over 15 years ago by Drs. Radek Horvath and Milos Dendis and is an established market leader in the molecular diagnostics field. Both Founders will remain with the merged company and continue as significant shareholders. GeneProof is the largest producer of PCR reagents in the Czech Republic and distributes its portfolio of more than 70 CE-marked molecular diagnostic tests and instruments throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and South America. Products are primarily focused on the infectious and genetic diseases. With a strong emphasis on quality, GeneProof offers technologically advanced real-time PCR kits and user-friendly automated instrument platforms for both nucleic acid extraction and sample-to-answer testing that meet the diverse throughput needs of laboratories.

The combined company is majority owned by Ampersand Capital Partners (“Ampersand”), which first invested in ALPCO in 2020.

“ALPCO and GeneProof have both earned great reputations in their respective markets, ALPCO in immunodiagnostics and GeneProof in molecular diagnostics,” said Sean Conley, President and CEO of ALPCO. “The combination of the two companies transforms both organizations into a more complete solutions provider and aligns well with ALPCO’s strategy of investing in proprietary automated platforms.”

Radek Horvath, CEO of GeneProof, added, “This strategic connection represents a new chapter in the life of both companies. It will facilitate the entry of GeneProof products into the US market, and similarly, expand the presence of ALPCO products into the EU and around the world. The combination of deep knowledge in the field of molecular diagnostics as well as in the field of immunological diagnostics will bring a significant synergistic effect. The two merged companies intend to use each other’s technological experience and rely on the support of our strong partner, Ampersand, for further development.”

Eric Lev, General Partner at Ampersand and Board member of ALPCO added, “I look forward to working with Sean, Radek, and Milos as we build the combined company into a fully integrated global leader in the field of diagnostics and commercialize GeneProof’s fully automated real-time PCR offerings in the North American market.”

About ALPCO

American Laboratory Products Company (ALPCO) was founded in 1991 as an importer and distributor of immunoassay-based products for the North American life science markets. The company has since evolved into a leading producer of novel immunodiagnostic reagents for specialty testing laboratories. In September of 2020, ALPCO announced the recapitalization of the company by Ampersand Capital Partners. Ampersand’s investment was sought to accelerate ALPCO’s global growth initiatives, including the expansion of the company’s diagnostics reagent offering, broadening the company’s geographic presence, and fueling technological advancement. For additional information, please visit www.alpco.com.

About GeneProof

Based in Brno, Czech Republic, GeneProof a.s. was founded in 2005 by Dr. Radek Horvath and Dr. Milos Dendis. GeneProof offers a wide range of in vitro molecular diagnostic products, primarily focused on the infectious diseases and genetic mutations. The Company has established a portfolio of more than 70 CE-marked PCR test kits and a proprietary instrumentation offering to serve laboratories of all sizes. GeneProof’s sales and distribution network covers more than 60 countries around the world. For detailed information see www.geneproof.com.

About Ampersand Capital Partners

Founded in 1988, Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm with more than $2 billion of assets under management dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector. With offices in Boston and Amsterdam, Ampersand leverages its unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive superior long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Ampersand has helped build numerous market-leading companies across each of the firm’s core healthcare sectors. Additional information about Ampersand is available at ampersandcapital.com.

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Biotalys and Olon enter into long-term partnership for the production of protein-based biocontrols

GIMV

12/01/2022 – 07:00 | Portfolio

Relying on its leading expertise in microbial fermentation, Olon Group will manufacture Biotalys’ biocontrols beginning with Evoca

Major step forward in terms of production efficiency and scalability

Ghent, BELGIUM, and Milan, ITALY – 12 January 2022, 07:00 CET – Biotalys (Euronext – BTLS), an Agricultural Technology (AgTech) company protecting crops and food with protein-based biocontrol solutions, and Olon, a world-leading contract development and manufacturing organization, today announced a long-term strategic partnership for the manufacturing of Biotalys’ biocontrol products. The partnership is driven by the common vision of transforming food protection with unique protein-based biocontrol solutions and secures the global supply of Biotalys’ newly developed biofungicide, Evoca™*, planned for market introduction in the United States in the second half of 2022 – pending regulatory approval.

Evoca, the first protein-based biocontrol in the Biotalys pipeline, aims to provide fruit and vegetable growers with a new rotation partner in integrated pest management (IPM) programs. It helps control diseases such as Botrytis and powdery mildew, thus reducing the dependency on chemical pesticides with corresponding residues in harvested produce while offering a distinctive new tool to manage pathogen resistance development.

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