LuinaBio: Ampersand adds another CDMO to portfolio

Biotech investor Glenn Haifer and private equity firm Ampersand Capital Partners have acquired microbial CDMO LuinaBio and renamed it AcuraBio.

LuinaBio has been a microbial contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for over 20 years but will now be rebranded as AcuraBio following the acquisition.

No financials have been disclosed but the new owners, Haifer and Ampersand, plan to increase the contract development and manufacturing organization’s (CDMO) production facility capacity, located near Brisbane, Australia.

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“We are very excited to be reinventing a company with such deep scientific experience,” said Haifer. “With our deep expertise and commitment to further investment, AcuraBio will be a leader in the APAC region for international biopharma clients attracted by the technology, scientific excellence, and innovation we will bring to the platform. I am excited to leverage Ampersand’s industry expertise as we take AcuraBio to the next level.”

David Anderson, general partner at Ampersand, added: “AcuraBio is strategically positioned in Australia to support international biopharma drug development. Australia has a strong reputation for clinical and scientific excellence which is the foundation to success for a company like AcuraBio.”

For the US-based PE firm, AcuraBio becomes the latest CDMO addition to its portfolio.

Through the firm’s operating partner Mark Bamforth, Ampersand had been a backer of Gallus BioPharmaceuticals before it was acquired by Patheon in 2014 (and subsequentially Thermo Fisher), and led the $82 million funding for live biopharmaceutical product (LBP) CDMO Arranta Bio in 2019. Ampersand also acquired German CDMO Vibalogics in 2019.

Earlier this year, the PE firm sold both Arranta and Vibalogics to Recipharm, though according to its website it still holds a financial interest in the Swedish CDMO. Meanwhile, late last year, the PE firm invested in bioanalytical services contractor, Alliance Pharma.

It’s website also names cell and gene therapy company Genezen, high potent API maker Alcami, and mRNA-focused manufacturer Vernal Biosciences among the biopharma services firms it currently holds in its portfolio.