Cytiva, backed by a $1.5 billion investment from its parent company, the Danaher Group, continued its expansion tear with the acquisition of CEVEC Pharmaceuticals.
CEVEC, which is based in Cologne, Germany, focuses on high-performance cell line development and viral vector manufacturing technologies.
CEVEC and its 46 scientific employees become part of Cytivia with the sale. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
The acquisition gives Massachusetts-based Cytivia access to scalable production cell lines for vectors based on adeno-associated viruses and adenoviruses, which are two of the most widely used vectors for delivering therapeutic genes to target cells and tissues. The technology will help Cytiva keep up with the increasing demand in the industry for volume and consistent quality of viral vectors, according to an Oct. 6 press release.
“With Cytiva's global reach and ability to scale, more customers will have access to CEVEC's technology and expertise to help accelerate and advance therapeutics for the benefit of patients,” Emmanuel Abate, Cytivia’s president of genomic medicine, said in the press release.
Cytiva has been on a big expansion push after the infusion of cash. In July, the company snapped up a former Bayer facility in Muskegon, Michigan, which is undergoing a transformation into a manufacturing site for chromatography resins. The resins are used in the purification and analysis of biomolecules to produce a variety of medicines.
That acquisition came fast on the heels of Cytivia’s May opening of an 80,000-square-foot facility in Grens, Switzerland. The Grens facility houses 250 employees and serves as Cytiva's home base for its cell and gene therapy business.