Novo buying up ‘more of its supply chain’ in Single Use Systems deal

The deal will see the Danish holding and investment company take a 60% share of Single Use Support. The two Single Use Support founders will retain 10% of the company each, while life science conglomerate Danaher Corporation will retain a 20% stake, after its subsidiary Pall (now absorbed by bioprocess vendor firm Cytiva) acquired shares in the firm back in 2021.

Founded in 2017, Austrian firm Single Use Support offers the biomanufacturing space a range of fluid management solutions based upon – as its name suggests – single-use technologies. Products include primary packaging, single-use bag protection, freeze-thaw processes, and single-use filling-filtration for use in the manufacturing of biological drug substances, cell and gene therapies, and mRNA vaccines.

For Novo Holdings, the acquisition is described as “an important and complimentary addition to our fast-growing life science tools & diagnostics portfolio” by senior partner Johan Hueffer, while partner Tuomas Toiviainen said the deal will “support the next phase of growth and drive further innovation in the rapidly expanding bioprocessing market.”

But for others, the deal shows signs of Novo Holdings’ continued efforts to support its Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk, of which it is the major shareholder, and secure the supply of GLP-1 blockbusters Ozempic and Wegovy (both semuglatide).

“Seems like Novo is buying up more of their supply chain to make sure their blockbuster gets to market,” Brendan Lucey, cell and gene therapy committee chair at industry group Bio-Processing Systems Alliance (BPSA), wrote in a LinkedIn post. “It will be interesting to see if this becomes a trend. Is it Eli Lilly's turn next?”

Earlier this year, Novo Holdings caused shockwaves through the biopharma supply sector through its leftfield bid to acquire contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Catalent for $16.5 billion. The deal includes an arrangement for Novo Nordisk to acquire three of Catalent’s fill/finish facilities from its parent company for $11 billion, securing significant drug product capacity for semuglatide.

“Novo Holdings is joining us at a crucial moment as we prepare to further strengthen our global footprint, focusing on markets outside of Europe such as the US and Asia, and to engage with new customers,” said Christian Praxmarer, CEO of Single Use Support.

“With significant insights into the life science tools sector and a comprehensive industry network, I am excited to work alongside Novo Holdings and make new strides in our shared mission of bringing better treatments to patients.”