CDMO Ascend Advanced Therapies has partnered with EW Healthcare Partners to expand its pharmaceutical footprint in the US.
Under the terms of the agreement, EW will make capital investments in Ascend, while also incorporating its portfolio viral vector CDMO, Advanced BioScience Laboratories, (ABL) into Ascend's business mainframe.
Through the addition of ABL's dedicated AAV production facility in Rockville Maryland, as well as its team of experts, Ascend will be able to better serve the pharmaceutical market in the GMP manufacture of adeno-associated viruses.
The merger will allow expand Ascend's US fill/finish capacity, allowing the company to provide services spanning from R&D through to commercialisation in this sector.
This merger follows Ascend's investments into its operational capacity throughout the US and Europe, which has seen the company purchase GMP capacity in Alachua, Florida.
This site is currently undergoing a capacity expansion — including new fill/finish capabilities.
The company has also extended its GMP quality control testing, as well as its analytical and process development capacity.
CEO of Ascend, Mike Stella, commented: “This alignment deepens our already exceptional AAV expertise with the new team members from ABL. Not only are we expanding our GMP capacity, but this merger allows the team to offer customers an even more sophisticated gene-to-GMP experience,”
“We are incredibly pleased to welcome EW Healthcare Partners as a new investor in Ascend and ABL to the Ascend family. The strong support from our existing investors has been instrumental in completing this transaction and will be crucial as we continue to drive growth in the new company.”
“We have known Ascend and followed its progress in creating effective and high-quality gene therapies, and have been impressed with how the management team, which we also backed at Cognate BioServices, has expanded the business," stated Managing Director of EW Healthcare Partners, Elvis Hursever.
"We are excited about merging ABL with Ascend to create a scalable CDMO that will serve as a global platform for the manufacturing of advanced therapies. We have considerable experience and expertise in this space and the combined company’s strategic plans are very well aligned with our long-term vision."
The ABL brand and website will stay intact through the initial transaction.