Crown Bioscience, a global contract research organization (CRO) and a JSR Life Sciences company, has entered into an agreement to acquire the IndivuServ business unit of Indivumed GmbH.
A share purchase agreement (SPA) between was executed in December, 2022, and subject to customary closing adjustments, the transaction is expected to close in April 2023.
Indivumed GmbH, founded in Germany in 2002, provides and analyzes clinical biospecimens.
The transaction will generate two separate Indivumed entities, Indivumed Therapeutics and Indivumed Services. The latter, the current IndivuServ business unit of the company, will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Crown Bioscience and will incorporate all associated laboratory operations and staff located in Hamburg, Germany and Frederick, Maryland, U.S.
Indivumed Therapeutics, currently known as the IndivuType business unit will continue its work of translating biospecimens into multi-omics data and focus together with its international clinical partners on data- and AI-driven therapy development in oncology.
Biobank
Crown Bioscience’s proposed acquisition of Indivumed Services includes both the curated and characterized biobank, comprising of almost one million samples with associated clinical data, and an extensive network of more than 60 clinical divisions in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
This network provides direct and controlled access to surgical biospecimens and blood samples annotated with comprehensive clinical data, all obtained in accordance with Indivumed’s unique SOPs to assure quality, and thereby be suitable for multi-omics analyses and model development. The collection and associated network will also enable and support further expansion of Crown Bioscience’s biomarker development service offerings, as well as patient-derived xenograft, ex vivo patient tissue (EVPT), and in vitro tumor organoid platforms.
Indivumed Therapeutics will continue its global clinical cooperation with leading cancer clinics in Europe, Americas, and Asia and leverage its unique multi-omics database and advanced AI analytics to focus on identifying and validating novel targets and biomarkers to develop individualized cancer therapies.
Strategic partnership
As part of the agreement, Indivumed Therapeutics and Crown Bioscience with Indivumed Services have additionally committed to a multi-year strategic partnership covering sample access and CRO service provision. Hartmut Juhl, founder and CEO of Indivumed Group, will join Crown Bioscience’s scientific advisory board.
Armin Spura, CEO of Crown Bioscience said: “The acquisition of ‘Indivumed Services’ reflects Crown Bioscience’s commitment to expanding our translational research platforms to provide our customers with superior options for bridging the gap between preclinical and clinical research. Everyone at Crown Bioscience is delighted to be welcoming the talented staff of ‘Indivumed Services’ to the company, and excited about the long-term potential of our new relationship.”
Hartmut Juhl, founder and CEO of Indivumed Group, said: “I am thrilled about the strategic partnership with Crown Bioscience, the first-in-class CRO. For 20 years Indivumed has driven the advancement of precision oncology by both its CRO services and its own R&D activities. Now, we can focus on our data analytics-driven drug and diagnostic development while we also benefit from the enhanced strength of Crown Bioscience’s R&D oncology offerings.
“With this partnership Crown Bioscience and Indivumed create a powerhouse for the advancement of precision oncology. Further, it fills me with great pride that my hometown Hamburg is emerging as a leading oncology biotech location.”