Press Release

Sartorius acquires majority stake in cell and gene therapy raw materials supplier CellGenix

  • CellGenix headquarters in Freiburg to be expanded into a center of excellence for the development and production of high quality raw materials for the cell and gene therapy market

Freiburg, Germany, 2 July, 2021 – The life science group Sartorius, through its subgroup Sartorius Stedim Biotech, acquired a majority stake in the raw material manufacturer CellGenix GmbH. CellGenix will continue to be led by Felicia Rosenthal, the company’s CEO and co-founder.

Founded in 1994 at the University Medical Center of Freiburg, CellGenix is a leading raw material supplier for the cell and gene therapy market. The company produces and markets cell culture components, such as growth factors, cytokines, and media in GMP quality for developing and manufacturing cell and gene therapy products. The company is based in Freiburg, Germany, and has a subsidiary near the biotechnology hub in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Sartorius has initially acquired 51 percent of CellGenix, which has been privately owned until now, for around 100 million euros in cash. At the beginning of 2023 and 2026, Sartorius plans to acquire the remaining shares of CellGenix.

“For us, Sartorius is an ideal partner with a highly complementary product portfolio that will accelerate our development with its global sales team, enabling us to usher in our next phase of growth,” said Felicia Rosenthal.

“CellGenix has an excellent reputation on the market and brings in high technological expertise and considerable regulatory experience in one of the fastest-growing fields of the biopharma sector. Together, we will support our customers even better in fast-tracking their drug candidates efficiently through the various steps in the development of medicines so that innovative therapies can reach patients faster,” added René Fáber, member of the Executive Board for the Bioprocess Solutions Division of Sartorius.

Sartorius plans to expand the Freiburg site substantially and to establish it as a center of excellence within the group in the areas of development and manufacture of quality critical raw materials for the cell and gene therapy market.

About CellGenix

CellGenix is a leading global supplier of high quality raw and ancillary materials for the expanding market of cell and gene therapy and regenerative medicine. CellGenix develops, manufactures and markets human cytokines, growth factors, and other recombinant cell culture components in preclinical and GMP quality as well as proprietary serum-free media for further manufacturing of ATMPs. As a former ATMP developer and manufacturer, in more than two decades CellGenix gained in-depth cell processing knowledge and superior regulatory expertise. With this unique background, CellGenix understands the high requirements their customers are facing during product development and the regulatory approval process. To meet the increasing demand of GMP quality raw materials for ATMP manufacturing CellGenix has recently expanded manufacturing capacity, built additional R&D and QC laboratories, and warehouse space. The upgrade also introduced state-of-the-art, automated, large-scale capacities for recombinant protein products in the existing GMP facilities.

About Sartorius

The Sartorius Group is a leading international partner of life science research and the biopharmaceutical industry. With innovative laboratory instruments and consumables, the Group’s Lab Products & Services Division concentrates on serving the needs of laboratories performing research and quality control at pharma and biopharma companies and those of academic research institutes. The Bioprocess Solutions Division with its broad product portfolio focusing on single-use solutions helps customers to manufacture biotech medications and vaccines safely and efficiently. The Group has been annually growing by double digits on average and has been regularly expanding its portfolio by acquisitions of complementary technologies. In fiscal 2020, the company earned sales revenue of some 2.34 billion euros. At the end of 2020, nearly 11,000 people were employed at the Group’s approximately 60 manufacturing and sales sites, serving customers around the globe.

For more information contact:

CellGenix
Evelien Nijssen
Team Leader Marketing
+49 (0)761 88889 434
nijssen@cellgenix.com

 

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