Brammer Biopharmaceuticals today announces its merger with Florida Biologix to create the best-in-class cell and gene therapy biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO). The merged company, Brammer Bio, will combine deep technical expertise in process development and clinical manufacturing with demonstrated capabilities, operating approaches and the quality standards required for commercial manufacturing.  Ampersand Capital Partners, the majority shareholder of Florida Biologix, made an additional investment in the combined company and is the only institutional investor in Brammer Bio.

Brammer Bio is focused on providing clinical and commercial supply of autologous and allogeneic cell therapies, and viral vector products for in vivo and ex vivo therapeutic applications, along with process and analytical development, and regulatory support enabling large pharma and biotech clients to accelerate the delivery of novel medicines and improve patient health.

Brammer Bio occupies 45,000 ft² of process development and phase 1/2 clinical manufacturing space in Alachua, FL, and is developing a 50,000 ft² facility in Lexington, MA, with plans to build-out large-scale, phase 3/commercial-ready viral vector manufacturing suites, segregated cell and gene therapy suites, and quality control (QC) and analytical laboratories for clinical and commercial launch services.

The management team is led by Mark Bamforth, President and CEO, and Steven Kasok, CFO, who were previously co-founders of Gallus Biopharmaceuticals, and Richard Snyder, PhD, CSO, the founder of Florida Biologix, which was spun out of the University of Florida in 2015.

“There is a rich pipeline of over 500 cell and gene therapies in the clinic, and many of the large and specialist biotech companies pursuing these promising treatments want to leverage the expertise of a reliable, high-quality CDMO to supply their products for clinical through to commercial use,” said Mark Bamforth, President and CEO. “Brammer has the necessary laboratory and production capabilities and a highly skilled team of scientists with the development, manufacturing, and analytical expertise required to tackle the challenges posed by these novel technologies and help accelerate their transition from the clinic to patients in need.”

Brammer Bio, in combination with Florida Biologix, has a 10-year track record of providing development, clinical-phase manufacturing, and testing services, supporting clients with advanced therapeutic products and processes. Brammer intends to double the process development and early-clinical capacity at its Florida location, building on its robust clientele base. Existing and future clients taking their gene and cell therapy projects to phase 3 and beyond will be supported at the Lexington, MA facility.

“We recently began exploring options for gaining access to larger-scale manufacturing capabilities. With the deep manufacturing and commercial expertise, knowledge of facility design, and implementation of commercial quality and regulatory systems that Mark and Steven bring to the table, the marriage of Florida Biologix’s early client pipeline with Brammer Biopharmaceuticals is a perfect fit.” says Richard O. Snyder, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer for Brammer Bio.

David Anderson, Partner at Ampersand Capital Partners, said, “Having recently led the spin-out of Florida Biologix from the University of Florida, we are delighted to support this merger with Brammer Bio to create the leading company in its field with the expertise to support clients as their products advance into phase III and towards licensure. The combination of Mark Bamforth and Steven Kasok with Richard Snyder creates a powerful team which will accelerate the growth of the business and expand the capacity to serve clients.”