Evotec says the $23 million acquisition of Rigenerand will support its iPSC platform and add cell therapy manufacturing experts to its team.

According to the firm, it will gain Rigenerand SRL’s manufacturing site in Medolla, Italy,  around 100 kilometres south of Evotec’s campus located in Levi-Montalcini in Verona. Evotec claims the addition of the Medolla facility will expand its cell therapy platform Evo cells as it provides them with inhouse capabilities and a “high-quality” production site.

“The manufacturing capability of Rigenerand along with the exceptional R&D power of Evotec will strengthen Evotec’s ability to successfully win new integrated partnerships within the innovative field of cell therapy,” a spokesperson for Evotec told BioProcess Insider.

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The Medolla facility includes 1,200 square meters of high-tech production space, with room available for future expansions. Additionally, the site compromises manufacturing, R&D, quality control, and development labs, as well as clean rooms equipped for complex cell-based therapies.

“Cell therapies are an exciting emerging therapeutic modality with broad applicability across many indications. Originating from our leading iPSC platform, Evotec’s Evo cells platform enables the delivery of innovative cell therapeutics from inception to the patient. The acquisition of Rigenerand adds manufacturing capacity and expertise to the Evo cells platform,” Werner Lanthaler, CEO of Evotec said.

“Our conversations with our partners as well as our own industry observations have made it clear that horizontal expansion and rapid iteration at the scale-up are critical within the cell therapy space. As we see very strong demand for our standalone Just – Evotec Biologics J.PODs in the US and EU, it is strategically the logical step to build separate capability and capacity internally.”

While Evotec maintains the acquisition will support it iPSC platform and strengthen its ability to form partnerships in the cell therapy space, the firm said that the revenue contribution will not be substantial at the beginning.

Evotec will also gain a team of cell therapy manufacturers, but the spokesperson told us “the exact number of employees is not disclosed.”