Pictor Biotech, which was created last fall by former Novozymes exec Peter Rosholm to acquire the assets of bankrupt biomanufacturing startups Solar Biotech, has made two new acquisitions.
The firms—France-based biotech equipment maker GPC Bio and Hungary-based strain engineering company Eleszto Genetika (EG)—will create “a vertically integrated synthetic biology and biomanufacturing powerhouse,” claims Rosholm.
Virginia-based Solar Biotech has expertise in microbial, animal, and plant cell precision fermentation and downstream processing across various scales, while Eleszto Genetika has developed hundreds of microbial strains for the production of biopharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and cosmeceuticals. GPC Bio specializes in design, automation, software control, and engineering and has delivered biomanufacturing facilities for firms including Cargill and Merck.
By bringing together 100+ engineers, scientists, and biotech execs the combined entity will be able to support clients at every stage from strain and bioprocess development to plant engineering, automation, construction, and large-scale deployment, said Alex Berlin, CEO of Pictor Biotech (doing business as Solar Biotech).
“The challenges of microbial strain engineering—often hindered by restrictive IP and the technical hurdles of scaling bioprocesses—have long impeded the faster development of synthetic biology products. By uniting these companies, we can address these challenges head-on.”
The leaders of the three companies will continue to serve in their respective roles, while Rosholm will “serve the organization from an owner and investor capacity,” he explained.
“By combining the three firms under one umbrella, we are uniquely positioning our teams to thrive in this rapidly growing sector. We have a strong, client-focused and diverse organization with very experienced management, and this commitment adds significant funding to the existing companies’ infrastructure.”
‘Strain development has been a bottleneck in this industry’
Further reading:
Exclusive: Ex-Novozymes exec acquires assets of biomanufacturing specialists Solar Biotech, Noblegen
🎥Legacy US biomanufacturing network unfit for next wave of bioproducts, says Liberation Labs CEO
Read the orginal article: https://agfundernews.com/pictor-biotech-creates-vertically-integrated-synthetic-biology-and-biomanufacturing-powerhouse-after-buying-spree
