Recipharm, the Swedish CDMO, which happens to be Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine production partner, has undergone not one but two acquisitions in the week ending February 19th. This expansion is a part of a strategy that Recipharm has been eyeing since last summer. To bloat its biologics, Recipharm has opted for Arranta Bio and Vibalogics, with the former specialising in products that are microbiome therapeutics and are also into mRNA clinical production, whereas the latter focuses on oncolytic viruses, gene therapy, and viral vaccines too. Vibalogics will also help by providing process as well as analytical development, fill-finish services, testing, and manufacturing. There has been no mention of the commercials that Recipharm is paying for acquiring the two companies. There is also no communication on the details pertaining to the facilities and staff it wishes to acquire.
With the Arranta deal, which is expected to close by the end of March 2022, Recipharm will be able to access its strong microbiome platform, which has purification and fermentation expertise for naturally formed as well as developed bacteria consortia. What Arranta gives that platform is proprietary media, analytics, and crypreservative formulations that help in strengthening the viability of the biotherapeutic output.
In addition to the above, Arranta is also developing the plan to bring the drug development production and mRNA substance under a single roof, which will help it save time and also shield it from the ongoing supply chain challenges.
When we talk of Vibalogics, the CDMO, which is into virotherapy, comes with viral vectors and viruses for herpes, pox, and other virus classes concerning cancer and varied applications. Its customer base includes big pharma manufacturing companies and biotechs that are mid-sized or even startups. This double acquisition from Recipharm runs parallel to the almost buyout of Genlbet, a Portuguese CDMO that is into the manufacturing of clinical trial biological materials and also viral vectors. As is the case with the dual acquisition, the finances of Genlbet are also not in the public domain. Just prior to this deal, Recipharm also ended up signing an agreement with an unnamed drug maker that features in the top 10 list. As per the deal, it is expected that Recipharm may hire more than thirty employees over a period of four years.
