Sartorius to acquire Polyplus to Strengthen Offerings for Cell and Gene Therapies

Rare Daily Staff

The life science group Sartorius, through its French listed subgroup Sartorius Stedim Biotech, has signed an agreement to acquire Polyplus for approximately $2.6 billion (€2.4 billion) from private investors including Archimed and WP GG Holdings IV B.V., an affiliate of Warburg Pincus.

Polyplus, with around 270 employees, develops and produces transfection as well as other DNA/RNA delivery reagents and plasmid DNA in high quality and GMP grade. These are key components in the production of viral vectors used in cell and gene therapies and other advanced medicinal therapeutic products.

The proposed transaction is subject to customary conditions, including completion of the information and consultation of the works’ council and approval by regulatory authorities and is expected to close during the third quarter of 2023.

Founded in 2001, Polyplus is based in Strasbourg, France, and has locations in France, Belgium, the United States, and China. The company has been expanding its focus beyond transfection reagents through acquisitions in adjacent technologies like plasmid design, and protein and plasmid manufacturing, broadening its upstream portfolio for gene therapies as well as gene-modified cell therapies.

“In the dynamically growing market for cell and gene therapies, viral vectors are needed to deliver the genes of interest into cells,” said René Fáber, member of the executive board and head of the Bioprocess Solutions division of Sartorius. “The development pipeline of such therapies has been growing strongly and more and more are reaching major milestones. As a leading supplier of critical components to produce cell and gene therapies, Sartorius and Polyplus together will be excellently positioned to play a significant role in this dynamic field.”

Sartorius AG will receive a bridge loan facility from J.P. Morgan for a transitional period to finance the transaction. Sartorius intends to refinance this loan with long-term financing instruments which might also include an equity component.

Photo: René Fáber, member of the executive board and head of the Bioprocess Solutions division of Sartorius