Clean Biologics gains foothold in North American market, adds vaccine and biologics focused CDMO to group
The move also means it gets a platform to establish a presence on the North American market with a view to increasing its activities in this region.
The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Backed by healthcare investment fund, ArchiMed, the deal positions Biodextris for near-term expansion, said Joe Zimmermann, CEO of the Canadian CDMO. “We currently have clients in North America, Europe, and Asia, but the affiliation with Clean Biologics will likely broaden this base in the short-term.”
Based in Montreal, Biodextris is involved with upstream production processes; both microbial fermentation and mammalian cell culture, as well as downstream processes for the purification of biological products from microbial and mammalian cells and stabilized formulations of the purified material.
The contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) also develops analytical methods for the characterization and quality control testing of bulk drug substances and drug products comprised of material produced by the particular process.
In terms of the biologic products the Canadian firm has developed, manufactured, and tested for vaccine, pharmaceutical and other applications, Zimmermann told BioPharma-Reporter: “Biodextris has mainly produced protein drugs such as vaccine antigens, monoclonal antibodies, therapeutic proteins as well as whole cell therapeutic products. Recent examples include a SARS-CoV2 spike protein antigen for the University of Saskatchewan/VIDO Covid-19 vaccine, a bacterial derived immunotherapeutic agent for treatment of Alzheimer's Disease (IMAB-Harvard University Medical School) and a recombinant protein antigen used in the development of a Hepatitis B vaccine for a major pharmaceutical company. We also has extensive experience in the analytical testing of hemagglutinin antigens and influenza vaccines.”
'A natural fit'
The CDMO joins the two client-focused companies within the Clean Biologics group:
- Clean Cells, created in 2000, offers a range of service for the biopharmaceutical industry, from quality control and biological safety tests to production of cell banks and GMP-grade BSL2/BSL3 virus seed stock and bacteriophages for phage therapy
- Naobios, another CDMO, joined the group in 2019; it provides bioprocess development and GMP production for clinical batches of viral vaccines BSL2/BSL3, oncolytic viruses and viral vectors
Joseph Jammal, CEO of Clean Biologics. “The cultures of the three companies in the group – Clean Cells, Naobios and now Biodextris - are very similar in terms of customer focus and personalization, making this acquisition a natural fit for the very promising expansion projects to come.”
