RoslinCT, a cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) developing life-changing therapies in Edinburgh’s BioQuarter, and Lykan Bioscience, a CDMO focused on cell-based therapies, have entered into a business combination agreement to form a global advanced therapies CDMO.
The combined group will offer process development expertise and cGMP manufacturing for a range of autologous and allogeneic cell therapies, with expertise in gene editing and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) capabilities.
Bases in Scotland and Massachusetts
The group will benefit from expanded capacity, with process and analytical development laboratories and cGMP manufacturing facilities in Edinburgh, Scotland, and in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.
Lykan has a 64,000 sq. ft. cell therapy manufacturing facility and innovation/development laboratories with 16 cGMP processing suites running by the end of 2022. Further laboratory and cGMP capacity expansion in Scotland is planned to build on RoslinCT’s existing 40,000 sq. ft facilities, including eight cGMP suites.
The companies said the pairing will shorten development and manufacturing timelines for advanced therapy sponsors, facilitating clinical and commercial GMP product release on both sides of the Atlantic.
Earlier in 2022, Global Healthcare Opportunities, or GHO Capital Partners LLP (GHO), a European investor in global healthcare, announced its investment in RoslinCT. As part of the new agreement, GHO is making a majority investment in Lykan and is backing the funding of the combined entity. WindRose Health Investors, previously the majority owner of Lykan Bioscience, has reinvested in the new combined group along with Lykan Management.
300 staff
RoslinCT CEO Peter Coleman, and Lykan president and CEO Patrick Lucy, will remain in their current roles. Together, the new entity will have a global headcount of around 300 employees.
Coleman said: “This combination puts us in a strong position as a leading global CDMO in the process development and manufacturing of advanced cell therapies, and we look forward to working with our new colleagues at Lykan to fuel future growth and meet the increasing demand for innovative therapies.”
Lucy added: “We are delighted to combine with RoslinCT to better serve the growing demand for manufacturing capacity and expand the range of innovative services we can provide our partners to support the development of advanced cell and gene therapies.”