Agilent Technologies, a Santa Clara, California-based technology company and CDMO of nucleic acid-based active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), has agreed to acquire BioVectra, a Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada-based CDMO of drug substances and drug products, for $925 million. 

BioVectra provides clinical-to-commercial scale production of biologics, small molecules (including highly potent APIs), bioreagents, lipids, plasmid DNA (pDNA), mRNA and lipid nanoparticles (LPNs), and fill–finish services for drug products. 

The acquisition builds on Agilent’s CDMO specialization in oligonucleotides and CRISPR therapeutics and expands its portfolio of services and adds new modalities, such as highly potent APIs. The acquisition includes all BioVectra employees and sites in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, Canada. BioVectra recently made a $240-million investment to expand its operational footprint in both Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Earlier this year (2024), the company completed an expansion of its capabilities in mRNA, pDNA, LPNs, and fill–finish. 

Last year (2023), Agilent announced an investment of $725 million to double manufacturing capacity of therapeutic nucleic acids at its facility in Frederick, Colorado, by adding two new manufacturing lines. The new investment is in addition to a previously announced $150-million investment to add 25,000 square feet of manufacturing capacity to the Frederick facility. Agilent’s manufacturing facilities in Colorado produce siRNA, antisense molecules, and CRISPR-guided RNA molecules. The expansion is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. 

Agilent’s pending acquisition of BioVectra is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals, and is expected to close before 2025. Upon close, BioVectra will become part of the Agilent Diagnostics and Genomics Group. 

Source: BioVectra and Agilent Technologies