Evotec Adds Cell Therapy Mfg. Facility with Rigenerand Acquisition

Evotec SE signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the capital of Rigenerand Srl, a leading cell technology company, for €23 million. Founded in 2009 as a spin-off of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Rigenerand is a pioneering company in the field of cGMP manufacturing of cell therapies. The acquisition adds a team of cell therapy cGMP manufacturing experts.
 
Rigenerand is based in Medolla, Italy, near Evotec’s Campus Levi-Montalcini in Verona, and operates a first-class certified facility that integrates state-of-the-art cGMP production with R&D and QC labs and development labs. The production facility, called “cell factory”, comprises a series of fully equipped clean rooms for the manufacturing of complex cell-based therapies. The site in Medolla comprises 1,200 square meters of high-tech manufacturing space, with potential for significant further expansion.


 
The acquisition expands Evotec’s cell therapy platform EVOcells by adding a dedicated, high-quality cGMP manufacturing site. The integration of discovery and development of innovative therapies combined with in-house capabilities in GMP manufacturing are mandatory within this field. The manufacturing capability of Rigenerand along with the Evotec’s R&D capabilities will strengthen Evotec’s ability to win new integrated partnerships within the field of cell therapy.



Dr. Werner Lanthaler, Chief Executive Officer of Evotec, said, “Cell therapies are an exciting emerging therapeutic modality with broad applicability across many indications. Originating from our leading iPSC platform, Evotec’s EVOcells platform enables the delivery of innovative cell therapeutics from inception to the patient. The acquisition of Rigenerand adds manufacturing capacity and expertise to the EVOcells platform. Our conversations with our partners as well as our own industry observations have made it clear that horizontal expansion and rapid iteration at the scale-up are critical within the cell therapy space. As we see very strong demand for our standalone Just – Evotec Biologics J.POD®s in the US and EU, it is strategically the logical step to build separate capability and capacity internally. We warmly welcome the Rigenerand team into the Evotec family and are excited to leverage their skill and expertise for our partners and ultimately the patients.”