Asahi Kasei Medical will scoop up Bionova Scientific, a California-based contract manufacturer, in a bid to add the CDMO’s services to its extensive bioprocess business, according to Asahi Kasei.
The acquisition will allow Asahi Kasei, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, to expand its bioprocess business, something that has been a recent focus for the group.
Bionova is a CDMO with a history of making next-generation antibody drugs. Bionova’s experience producing these specialized therapies positions the company to meet the rising demand for the drugs, which has been bumped up thanks to an uptick in the number of biopharmaceuticals in the clinical pipeline.
By adding Bionova, Asahi Kasei hopes to roll out biotherapeutics more efficiently and with an increased focus on safety, according to the company.
Neither Asahi Kasei nor Bionova has released the financial details of the acquisition yet. But, as the deal moves forward the Japanese chemical company will get Bionova’s 36,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. The massive campus doubles as Bionova’s headquarters and features two 2,000-liter mammalian cell culture trains and the ability to produce multiple monoclonal antibodies and other recombinant proteins simultaneously.