Thermo Fisher Scientific acquires viral vector business from Novasep for $875m

The viral vector manufacturing arm of Novasep offers contract manufacturing services for vaccines and therapies to biotechnology and biopharma companies.

Established over 20 years ago, the business has a workforce of 400, with a clinical and manufacturing facility spread over 7,000m². It operates from two locations in Belgium – Seneffe and Gosselies.

The business claims to have a substantial operational and technical expertise in a wide range of viral vector classes, with an estimated revenue of €80m ($95m) for last year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific executive vice-president Michel Lagarde said: “Novasep’s viral vector business is an excellent strategic fit as Thermo Fisher continues to expand its capabilities for cell and gene vaccines and therapies globally. The addition of their manufacturing capabilities in Europe complements our four development and manufacturing sites in North America.

“In addition, they bring an incredibly talented team with more than two decades of experience across a broad range of viral vectors. The combination will benefit our global customers seeking support and capacity in the region as well as European customers bringing new medicines to patients inside and outside of Europe.”

As per Thermo Fisher Scientific, the viral vector business will now be part of its pharma services business within the laboratory products and services segment.

Novasep president and CEO Michel Spagnol said: “Thermo Fisher is an outstanding partner for our viral vector business and its future development. Our diverse customer base will benefit from the combination of our viral vector services capabilities with the scale and capabilities of Thermo Fisher.

“Our talented employees will bring deep expertise to an organisation that shares our commitment to providing ground-breaking new medicines to patients.”

Last month, the company acquired Phitonex, an American firm pioneering in spectral dye platform for high-resolution biology applications for accelerated research and development in cell therapy, immuno-oncology and immunology.

Thermo Fisher believes that the acquisition can strengthen its flow cytometry and imaging multiplexing capabilities to meet the changing needs in protein and cell analysis research.