PharmaCell, a spinout of Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus, has been acquired by Lonza.
Lonza, a supplier to the pharmaceutical industry, has acquired PharmaCell, a Netherlands-based cell and gene contract manufacturer spun out of Brightlands Maastricht Health Campus.
The acquisition provides an exit for Limburg Ventures, a venture capital fund that invests in Limburg-based startups, typically spun out of Brightlands Chemelot Campus and Maastricht Health Campus.
Founded in 2005, PharmaCell specialises in autologous cell and gene therapy manufacturing, which uses a patient’s own cells, as opposed to allogeneic therapy, which uses donor cells.
The company said its sales in 2016 reached €11m ($12.4m).
In 2007, PharmaCell raised €2m in a combined equity and loan financing round. Limburg Ventures led the equity tranche, joined by Mercurius Beleggingsmaatschappij and Maastricht University Hospital.
Casper Bruens, outgoing chairman of Pharmacell and director of Limburg Ventures, said: “Pharmacell has made a tough but rewarding journey to prove that cell therapies can be upscaled successfully and used to cure patients.
“It has at times been difficult but always inspiring to work with excellent people who believed from the start in the success of cell therapy in this region.
“I believe that the company will be able to grow even stronger in the hands of a company with a reputation and a balance sheet as strong as that of Lonza.”
