Pharmaceutical Technology Editors

Sotera Health, a US-based provider of sterilization, lab-testing, and advisory services, announced on March 10, 2021 that it has acquired BioScience Laboratories, a topical antimicrobial product testing company located in the US.

The acquisition will expand the antimicrobial and antiviral testing capabilities of Sotera’s Nelson Labs business in the US, Sotera said in a company press release. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

“BioScience Laboratories is premier provider of antimicrobial testing services; known for its testing of consumer hand sanitizers, pre-operating hand-wash, and hard surface disinfectants. It is also recognized for its strong relationships with its customers and regulators,” said Michael B. Petras Jr., chairman and CEO of Sotera Health, in the press release. “This acquisition will expand and further strengthen our antimicrobial and virology lab testing capabilities. We welcome BioScience Laboratories’ strong management and expert staff as they join us in our mission, safeguarding global health.”

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The acquisition will expand the antimicrobial and antiviral testing capabilities of Sotera’s Nelson Labs business in the US.

Sotera Health to Acquire BioScience Laboratories to Expand its Antimicrobial and Antiviral Testing Capabilities

PerkinElmer announced it is expanding its documentation, workflow, and decision-making Signals informatics platform to enhance its capabilities in the biologics drug discovery space following a collaboration with Insightful Science, a life sciences software company.

The platform expansion will include the offering of SnapGene and Geneious Prime software for DNA construct design, molecular cloning, and other kinds of molecular biology research; the ability to access and compare data across experiments and instruments; and the option to replicate assays and experiments immediately, PerkinElmer said in a March 17, 2021 company press release.

“There is a limited availability of IT tools in the biologics space,” said Kevin Willoe, vice-president and general manager of PerkinElmer, Informatics, in the press release. “Through our collaboration with Insightful Science, we’re able to provide enhanced informatics capabilities to scientists doing vital biologics and vaccine research. This will help significantly reduce cycle times for researchers and aid them in making data-driven decisions faster and more accurately—important capabilities when fighting foes like cancer, cardio, neurological, and viral diseases.”

"The integration of best-in-class scientific software with cloud-based data platforms is increasingly essential for modern pharmaceutical and biotech enterprises to streamline research and ensure the integrity of valuable data,” added Brett Ammundsen, CEO Bioinformatics at Insightful Science, in the press release. “The combination of SnapGene and Geneious Prime software with the PerkinElmer Signals platform powerfully enhances research workflows and enriches collaboration. Ultimately this will better connect scientists to their ideas and data, so they can focus on producing life-changing outcomes.”

The companies plan to enhance the platform’s capabilities in the biologics drug discovery space through their partnership. 


PerkinElmer Expands Signals Platform Through Insightful Science Collaboration 

LabVantage Solutions, a laboratory informatics solutions and services provider, announced on March 25, 2021 that it has named Mikael Hagstroem as its new CEO.

Before taking on his new role, Hagstroem served as CEO and president at MetricStream, an independent provider of governance, risk, and compliance products and solutions; partner at McKinsey & Company and chief operating officer of McKinsey Analytics; and executive vice-president of the SAS Institute and president of SAS International, LabVantage said in a company press release. Additionally, Hagstroem is currently on the board of advisors of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Forum and has served as chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Data-Driven Development, as a member of the executive committee of the US Council for International Business, and as an executive board member of the Atlantic Council.

“[Hagstroem] embodies the sense of purpose and passion required to tackle big goals and the expertise to achieve them,” said Purnendu Chatterjee, chairman of LabVantage Solutions, in the press release. “He is an accomplished business leader who has built innovative data-based enterprises across a range of industries. He is a visionary strategist who understands the transformational potential of advanced technologies and translates them into actionable business initiatives. An inspired leader, [Hagstroem] is committed to accelerating the use of new tools such as analytics and AI to address urgent global problems. We are thrilled to welcome him to LabVantage and excited at the prospect of what we can accomplish together.”

“LabVantage brings the Fourth Industrial Revolution–characterized as a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital, and biological worlds and impacting all disciplines, economies, and industries–to the lab, and I am honored to take the helm,” Hagstroem added in the press release.

Mikael Hagstroem has been named as the company’s new CEO. 

LabVantage Announces New CEO

Antiverse, a biotechnology company developing a computational antibody drug discovery platform, has achieved seed funding of £1.4 million (US$2 million) total, which will be used to further develop Antiverse’s artificial intelligence (AI) antibody drug discovery platform. The AI-based technology can rapidly and accurately predict antibody–antigen binding to identify antibody drug candidates. The seed funding consists of new investment and match funding from the UKI2S Innovate Accelerator.

A portion of the capital raised will be used to build a laboratory in Cardiff, Wales, and to expand the technical team through recruitment of specialist machine learning engineers, laboratory scientists, and structural biologists, Antiverse said in a March 15, 2021 press release. Investors in the seed funding round include Development Bank of Wales, Angel Co-Investment Fund, Tensor Ventures, Wren Capital, Ed Parkinson, Cambridge Angels, and SyndicateRoom.

Antiverse’s work involves the combination of machine learning and phage display techniques to model antibody–antigen interactions. The current version of the platform uses next-generation sequencing and AI to provide diverse antibody candidates for any given target. The company expects that the technology will enable the development of drugs for “difficult” targets associated with cancer, heart, and lung diseases.

“Our investors recognize the potential of our AI-powered antibody drug discovery platform to provide a breakthrough in the industry. With our technology, it will be possible to develop drugs for difficult targets and ultimately reduce drug discovery timescales from years to weeks. In addition to platform development, the funding will enable us to invest in facilities and recruitment; we are grateful to our investors and Innovate UK for their continued support,” said Murat Tunaboylu, CEO of Antiverse, in the press release.

“Antiverse has an ambitious team of AI experts and scientists with a vision to transform drug discovery. This is a great example of a world class business taking off in Wales with the support of the Development Bank of Wales,” said Ed Parkinson, lead investor for the syndicate of Angel Investors, in the press release.

The funding will accelerate the development of Antiverse’s AI-powered antibody drug discovery technology, which aims to speed up drug development from years to weeks.

Antiverse Raises $2 million to Advance AI Antibody Drug Discovery Platform

Genesis Biotechnology Group (GBG) has acquired Integrated Analytical Solutions (IAS), a Berkeley, CA-based contract research organization (CRO) that provides bioanalytical, drug metabolism, and analytical chemistry services. GBG made the acquisition through its CRO arm, Genesis Drug Discovery & Development (GD3).

"This is our second acquisition in the space of two months as we further expand our presence in the San Francisco bay area, which we see as a market with tremendous growth potential for drug discovery services," said Eli Mordechai, PhD, CEO of GBG, in a March 4, 2021 company press release. "Adding IAS's GxP [good practices]-compliant bioanalytical platform to GD3's existing portfolio would allow us to further broaden our services around PK [pharmacokinetics] profiling and GLP [good laboratory practice] toxicology while being in close proximity to our pharma and biotech partners on the west coast."

"While we continue to add complementary services to expand into new markets, we are also adding scale to increase market share with our existing services," said Ben Bandaru, PhD, director of corporate development for GBG, in the press release. "Acquisition of IAS provides scale for our bioanalytical capabilities in a GLP setting."

"The team at IAS is honored and excited to join forces with the GD3 family of CROs. We strongly believe that our membership in the GD3 portfolio will position IAS to better serve current clients while also broadening our reach to develop new customers," added Jonah Michaelian, IAS's managing director, in the press release. "The acquisition by GD3 will enable IAS to realize the full potential of the analytical and regulatory infrastructure it has built over the past sixteen years and to establish itself as a center for bioanalytical excellence."

The acquisition will add "off the shelf" PK profiling capabilities to Genesis Drug Discovery and Development’s portfolio.

Genesis Drug Discovery and Development Acquires Integrated Analytical Solutions

Piezo Motion, a US-based provider of precision motor technology, has introduced a new piezoelectric micro-dosing pump, a first-of-its-kind technology that enables accurate fluid handling applications for scientists across life science laboratories. The company’s innovative design, launched in March 2021, eliminates the drivetrain of traditional pumps by replacing it with a drive mechanism that provides improved performance and responsiveness.

The design consists of a three-in-one microinjector that provides continuous microflow, rapid micro-dosing, microinjection, micro-suction, rapid sampling, and mixing. The footprint is compact at 3.5" by 4.5". In addition, applications that traditionally require two or three separate laboratory devices can now be replaced with this single piezoelectric micro-dosing pump, the company said in a March 17, 2021 press release.

The micro-dosing pump is capable of precise control over dispensed fluid volumes as small as a single nanoliter droplet size with ultra-smooth delivery. The system also includes a programmable user interface and pre-installed operating software. Both the pump and controller come complete and ready-to-use with stainless-steel foot mounts or optional retort stand attachments.

"At the heart of this micro-dosing pump is our ultra-precise rotary piezo motor. This isn't just a pump, it is a microinjector with unmatched responsiveness and control. Not only does our pump have a small footprint it can also replace multiple laboratory devices," said Hassan Kotob, chairman and CEO of Piezo Motion, in the press release.

Piezo Motion has introduced a new micro-dosing pump that can replace separate lab devices traditionally used for fluid handling applications.