WuXi AppTec has acquired OXGENE, a contract research and development organisation in the UK, to strengthen cell and gene therapy service offerings for global customers.
OXGENE will retain its name and become the wholly-owned subsidiary of WuXi AppTec’s cell and gene therapy contract testing, development and manufacturing organisation (CTDMO) WuXi Advanced Therapies (WuXi ATU).
The company, which designs and develops scalable gene therapy technologies, has provided discovery and biomanufacturing solutions to the cell and gene therapy industries through novel technologies and contract research solutions.
The deal allows WuXi AppTec to provide end-to-end support in the creation and development of cutting-edge cell and gene therapies for patients who are in need across the world.
OXGENE founder and CEO Ryan Cawood said: “We are excited to join the team at WuXi ATU and to work together to scale up our technologies as a combined business, which will strengthen and broaden our service offerings for customers, improving by orders of magnitude the scale and cost of bringing cell and gene therapies to market.”
Additionally, the company will help to further enhance these capabilities and will be WuXi ATU’s first facility in Europe.
WuXi ATU CEO David Chang said: “By combining WuXi ATU’s world-class cell and gene therapy CTDMO platform with OXGENE’s innovative capabilities, we will be able to provide transformative solutions for our customers.
“This business combination represents a significant step in our ongoing effort to enable our customers and partners worldwide to deliver more effective and accessible advanced therapies to patients globally.”
The financial details of the transaction are not disclosed by the companies.