Vigene Biosciences Inc., a Rockville firm that helps gene therapy and vaccine companies develop and manufacture products for rare diseases, is being acquired by Massachusetts-based Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (NYSE: CRL) for $292.5 million in cash.
Vigene fulfills a variety of manufacturing roles for biotech companies working in gene therapy. The company manufactures viral vectors, particularly adeno-associated viruses and plasmid DNA. In addition to the upfront payment, Vigene is also eligible for up to $57.5 million in milestone payments.
Following the acquisition, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, Charles River plans to expand Vigene in the U.S. and Sweden.
The news follows Charles River's acquisition of Nashville, Tennessee-based Cognate BioServices Inc., another cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization, which closed in March at $875 million. Wilmington, Massachusetts-based Charles River called Cognate and Vigene's capabilities "highly complementary" in an announcement. The company also recently paid $48 million for Retrogenix Ltd., an early-stage contract research organization based in the U.K. that focuses on cell therapy.
Charles River expects Vigene to generate annual revenue of $30 million to $35 million this year and grow at least 25% annually over the next five years.
Vigene, led by CEO Zairen Sun and Chief Commercial Officer Jeffrey Hung, works to make manufacturing processes more efficient and affordable for the 4,000 clients — from Big Pharma to small biotech. Among them: Gaithersburg’s Altimmune Inc., which is developing an intranasal Covid-19 vaccine.
The Rockville company grew revenue by about 50% in 2020 — still short of its target, after growing 130% year over year since 2014. It added 52,000 square feet to its footprint for a total 110,000 square feet, a move that also included plans to add up to 245 new positions through 2025. That was after opening 2020 with a new $20 million headquarters and aggressive hiring plan.
Vigene execs told the Washington Business Journal in March they were potentially looking to hire 70 new positions in 2021 and would require additional space to advance its programs.
