Recipharm acquired Portuguese CDMO GenIbet, which specializes in producing biological clinical trial material and other viral vectors, for an undisclosed price.
The deal for GenIbet is part of the Swedish CDMO’s plan to expand its biologics operations with a focus on drug substance production for advanced products such as viral vectors, RNA and microbiomes, the company said. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
The purchase gives Recipharm a platform for manufacturing new biologics modalities. GenIbet is based in Oeiras, Portugal, just down the road from Recipharm’s Lisbon facility, and currently works with customer projects in the preclinical and phase 1 stages. It spun out of the Institute of Experimental Biology and Technology in 2006 and has about 70 employees.
“This acquisition is an important step for us in growing our biologics business,” Marc Funk, Recipharm’s chief executive, said in a statement. “We’re proud to bring it under the Recipharm umbrella and tap into its broad offering in novel modalities and incredible scientific expertise.”
The deal for GenIbet comes just days after Recipharm announced it inked a deal with an unnamed “Top 10” pharmaceutical company to support vaccine manufacturing at its production facility in Kayserberg, France. As part of that deal, the Swedish CDMO said it expects to hire more than 30 new employees over the next four years. The company plans to spend more than $15.7 million in upgrades to the facility.
In the last few days Recipharm also said construction has begun at a new fill-finish factory in Morocco that is part of that country’s previously announced plans to increase capacity and production across Africa and help the continent create “vaccine sovereignty.”
The company is partnering with local authorities to build out the 104-acre site—dubbed Sensyo Pharmatech—with the help of about $500 million in pledges from the Moroccan government and a consortium of the country’s top banks.