Recipharm Acquires Two Biologics CDMOs: Vibalogics and Arranta Bio

Recipharm announced on Feb. 18, 2022 that it has acquired Vibalogics and Arranta Bio, both contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs), expanding its manufacturing capabilities in the virotherapy and advanced therapy spaces, respectively.

Vibalogics, a virotherapy CDMO and a portfolio company of Ampersand Capital Partners, has been making it presence known in the biopharma industry by providing specialized CDMO services for the manufacture of live viruses and viral vectors, including herpes viruses, pox viruses, adenoviruses, and other viral classes for cancer and other applications. The company has also has recently expanded in both Germany and the United States.

The acquisition of Vibalogics will give Recipharm capabilities in new biologics modalities and will allow Recipharm to build on the capabilities also acquired through the Arranta Bio buyout as well as another recent transaction, the acquisition of Genlbet, a Portuguese CDMO specializing in the manufacture of biological clinical trial material and novel modalities, such as viral vectors, RNA, and microbiome. Recipharm announced its acquisition of Genlbet on Feb. 1, 2022 (1).

"We are delighted to welcome our new colleagues from Vibalogics to Recipharm and are committed to support and even accelerate growth in the years to come and to continue to partner with customers in virus manufacturing solutions. This acquisition strengthens Recipharm’s presence in ATMPs [advanced therapy medicinal products] and enables us to get closer to our US customers," said Marc Funk, CEO at Recipharm, in a company press release.

The Arranta Bio acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of March 2022, gives Recipharm a strong microbiome platform with fermentation and purification expertise for naturally-derived and engineered bacteria consortia, alongside analytics, proprietary media, and cryopreservative formulations. These services aim to maximize yields and enhance viability for live biotherapeutic products being tested in the clinic against a range of infectious, inflammatory, neurological, and oncological diseases.

In addition, to help combat supply chain obstacles, Arranta Bio is also advancing the supply of end-to-end messenger RNA capabilities across drug substance and drug product under one roof.

“Arranta is a leading player in its field that we are proud of bringing under the Recipharm umbrella and continue to build in line with our vision of supporting biotechs by providing process development, manufacturing expertise, and bold solutions to take their programs from lab to patient,” said Funk in the press release.

Reference

1. Recipharm, "Recipharm Acquires GenIbet to Bolster Biologics Offering," Press Release, Feb. 1, 2022.

Source: Recipharm for Vibalogics acquisition and Arranta Bio acquisition