JSR Life Sciences Acquires Cell Line Developer Selexis SA, Integrates With KBI Biopharma, Inc.

JSR Life Sciences (JLS) announced today that JSR Corporation has agreed to acquire Selexis SA, a pioneering life sciences company and global leader in mammalian (suspension-adapted CHO-K1) cell-line generation technologies. Once completed, this transaction will mark the second major biotechnology addition to the JSR group of companies following JSR Corporation’s acquisition of KBI Biopharma in 2015. Selexis will be integrated within KBI Biopharma’s operations to create the most robust and fastest “Gene to GMP” service offering in the biopharmaceutical industry.

“Selexis has the best-in-class cell line development technology and offers the ability to solve some of the most difficult expression challenges in biologics development,” said Eric R. Johnson, President of JSR’s Life Sciences Division. “JSR holds quality as the highest of its values and we see that same focus in Selexis. The Selexis technologies seamlessly integrate into the biologics development continuum, spanning discovery to commercialization. This allows us – in conjunction with KBI Biopharma – to move one step closer in our vision to become the biologics contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) of the 21st century.”

With biopharma’s ever-evolving pipeline of novel protein therapeutics, such as bi-specific antibodies, multimeric proteins and Fc-fusion proteins, CHO cells are being pushed to their productivity limits in drug development and manufacturing. Biopharmaceutical companies working on these promising new therapies are increasingly struggling with development challenges such as weak protein expression, low-yield purification steps, and poorly optimized analytical techniques. Without addressing these challenges, many of these new medicines capable of treating serious, intractable diseases would never advance out of the pre-clinical phase. Selexis has made its mark with its SUREtechnology Platform™ that facilitates the rapid, stable, and cost-effective generation of cell lines producing virtually any recombinant protein. KBI has a proven track record of delivering therapeutic candidates into the clinic by leveraging its strengths in process development and analytics. Moreover, KBI and Selexis already have a long history of successful collaboration on behalf of their partners, as KBI has performed development and/or manufacturing services using more than 15 different Selexis generated cell lines since 2012.

“Combining KBI’s robust analytical, process development, and reliable high-quality manufacturing capabilities with our Selexis SUREtechnology Platform, puts us in a position to offer current and future partners the ability to take their R&D programs from transfection to investigational new drug (IND) application in less than nine months,” said Igor Fisch, PhD, Selexis Chief Executive Officer. “By delivering the fastest timelines in the industry, our partners will benefit from substantial cost savings and patients will have access to critical drugs sooner. We believe in the ability of our combined technologies and knowhow to contribute to the medicines of tomorrow that will save the lives of those facing diseases as diverse as HIV and various cancers.”

“The combination of Selexis and KBI results in a truly unique opportunity to create value for our clients,” said KBI President Tim Kelly, PhD. “KBI and Selexis share the same mission and values based on innovation, scientific excellence, true partnership with our clients, and focus on the patients we serve. Together, Selexis and KBI represent the next generation CDMO for the biopharmaceutical industry, which will translate into more high-quality biologics entering the clinic faster.”

Terms of the sales and purchase agreement are not disclosed.