LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GHO Capital, the European specialist investor in healthcare, today announces the acquisition of Caprion Biosciences, Inc. (“Caprion” or “the Company”), the leading provider of proteomics and immune monitoring services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.
Caprion is a specialist laboratory services company which provides testing services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for research and development activities. The Company provides two types of services:
1. The immune monitoring (ImmuneCarta®) platform which measures and monitors immune response parameters in patient samples and is used in clinical trials for the development of drugs that involve the immune system; and
2. The proteomics (ProteoCarta™) platform which enables the identification and measurement of proteins for biomarker discovery and validation, and for quality control in the manufacturing processes of biological drugs and compounds.
Headquartered in Montreal, Canada and employing 107 professionals, including 67 with PhD and/or MSc degrees, Caprion provides support to a high quality customer base of more than 50 major pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers. The Company’s differentiated technical capabilities and expertise has driven top-line growth of 22% over the past three years.
The immuno-oncology field is one of the fastest growing areas of research and development for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, with an estimated 44% growth in the volume of early-stage immune-oncology clinical trials from 2013 to 2015. Furthermore, the proteomics services market is expected to deliver a 16%-18% CAGR through to 2019 driven by an increased focus on precision medicine and companion diagnostics involving protein biomarker identification.
Mike Mortimer, Partner at GHO Capital, said: “We believe that Caprion is a world-class business operating in a highly attractive, rapidly growing segment. As a well-respected service provider to the pharmaceutical industry, the management team has developed a scalable business model capable of delivering significant further growth, making this an exciting investment opportunity for our fund. With favourable market dynamics in immuno-oncology and proteomics, Caprion is well-positioned to expand its capabilities on a global scale.”
Martin LeBlanc, President and CEO of Caprion, commented: “We are delighted to enter into this exciting new partnership with GHO Capital. GHO Capital brings a unique combination and depth of relevant industry expertise, network and strategic insights that will undoubtedly help position Caprion to maintain the rapid growth trajectory we have achieved over the past seven years. We look forward to continuing to build on our leading immunology and proteomics services to further broaden our customer base and pursue our expansion both in Europe and internationally.”
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP and Ropes & Gray LLP provided legal advice, Collins Barrow provided financial advice and DNA Capital Inc. provided advisory services to GHO Capital. Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP provided legal advice, and William Blair & Company, LLC and PricewaterhouseCoopers provided financial advice, to Caprion.
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About GHO Capital
Global Healthcare Opportunities, or GHO Capital Partners LLP, was founded in 2014 as a specialist healthcare investment adviser based in London. Our vision is to apply global capabilities and perspectives to build a world-class healthcare specialist private equity firm by recognising and seizing the highly attractive and underpenetrated European market opportunity. We have a powerful combination of transaction, investment and industry skills which sets us apart from traditional private equity firms. For further information, please visit www.ghocapital.com.
About Caprion Biosciences, Inc.
Caprion Biosciences is the leading provider of proteomics and immune monitoring services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. Its immune monitoring business unit, ImmuneCarta®, offers proprietary multiparametric flow cytometry services for functional analyses of innate and adaptive immune responses. Caprion’s proteomics business unit, ProteoCarta™, offers proprietary gel-free, label-free mass spectrometry (MS) for comprehensive, quantitative and robust comparative measurement of proteins across large sets of biological samples for the discovery and validation of protein biomarkers. Caprion also leverages ProteoCarta and ImmuneCarta to develop its own in-vitro diagnostic products targeting cancer, metabolic and infectious diseases. Based in Montreal, Canada, Caprion has been providing large-scale proteomics and immune monitoring services to over 50 major pharmaceutical and biotech clients for more than 15 years. For more information, please visit www.caprion.com.