With the market for new oncolytic viral and gene therapies developing rapidly, it is no surprise that private equity investors are looking for small contract manufacturers they can buy, build and sell off. Ampersand Capital Partners is one of the players in the middle of that scramble.
Just weeks after selling its share in Brammer Bio in a $1.7 billion deal, Ampersand has an agreement to buy Germany-based Vibalogics. The 50-person CDMO with a specialization in viruses has a 27,000-square-foot facility in Cuxhaven, Germany. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Given the exciting developments within the complex virus market this is an excellent time for an investor with deep experience in the viral vector contract manufacturing sector to partner with the company,” David Anderson, Ampersand general partner, said in a statement.
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Vibalogics CEO Stefan Beyer said the company will be able to tap Ampersand’s investment to grow its process development and manufacturing capabilities and expand in the U.S. and Europe.
The deal comes as large CDMOs have snapped up smaller ones with expertise in gene and cell therapies so they have an offering as biotechs look for contractors to help them develop them. In March, Ampersand Capital Partners sold Brammer Bio for $1.7 billion to Thermo Fisher Scientific, which has been building out its contract manufacturing operations since buying Patheon in 2017. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Brammer has expertise in viral vector manufacturing.
In April, Catalent agreed to ante up $1.2 billion for Paragon, a contractor with expertise in adeno-associated virus vectors, plasmids and lentivirus vectors. Owners of the Baltimore-based company included private equity investors NewSpring Health Capital and Camden Partners.