Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (NYSE: CRL) said Tuesday morning it had completed its acquisition of Vigene Biosciences Inc., a Rockville firm that helps gene therapy and vaccine companies develop and manufacture products for rare diseases.
Massachusetts-based Charles River paid $292.5 million for Vigene, and it said the purchase price could include up to $57.5 million in additional payments contingent on future performance.
When the deal was first announced in May, Charles River said it had plans to expand Vigene in the U.S. and Sweden. The company is now part of Charles River’s manufacturing segment.
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.
Charles River has recently brought on two other cell therapy companies, including Cognate BioServices Inc. of Nashville, Tennessee, and U.K.-based Retrogenix Ltd.
Vigene works to make manufacturing processes more efficient and affordable for its 4,000 clients — from Big Pharma to small biotechs.
The Rockville company was founded in 2012 and 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.
The wrong Maximus
Reston government services company Maximus Inc. (NYSE: MMS) issued a statement clarifying that it was, in fact, not the company named Maximus that was acquired on Monday.
Maximus said some “incorrect reporting circulating among certain news outlets” had mistaken it for a “privately held Canadian firm in the agriculture technology business bearing a similar name.” Earlier Monday, Milwaukee’s Ingersoll Rand Inc., an industrial equipment company, announced an agreement to acquire the Canadian firm for the equivalent of $110 million.
Reston’s Maximus posted $3.5 billion in revenue in 2020, while the Canadian company — which specializes in digital controls for farmers — posted $32.5 million in revenue last year.
Set your watches
9:09 p.m. — The time an Independence Day fireworks display is scheduled to begin at the National Mall on Sunday, according to the National Park Service. People who are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19 must continue to wear masks indoors and in crowded outdoor spaces, according to guidance from the park service. Masks are required for everyone on all forms of public transportation.
The big number
130% — Increase in searches for Airbnbs in Washington, D.C., for the Fourth of July holiday during the month of June, according to the homesharing company. It was the third-biggest increase of any state, coming in behind Kansas and Oklahoma, according to data Airbnb published Monday.
Odds and ends:
- Professional bull riding's Pendleton Whiskey Velocity Tour will bring its Fairfax Invitational back to EagleBank Arena at George Mason University in September. (Professional Bull Riders)
- Golftec, a retailer that offers golf lessons and golf club fittings, has opened its latest D.C.-area location in North Bethesda. (Golftec)
- Merriweather Post Pavilion will offer coronavirus vaccines during concerts. (WTOP)
- D.C. residents who help others get vaccinated can receive hundreds of dollars in Visa gift cards. (Washington Post)
- Most of Montgomery County's public Fourth of July celebrations, including fireworks, will not happen this year. (Bethesda Magazine)
- A group of Asian American business owners say Virginia's ban on games of skill, set to go into effect July 1, is discriminatory. They've asked Attorney General Mark Herring to investigate. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
