Mumbai: Suven Pharmaceuticals Limited has announced the acquisition of a controlling stake in NJ Bio Inc. with an investment of $64.4 million.
Suven will acquire 56% stake in NJ Bio (pre-money valuation of US$100mn) through a combination of primary and secondary:
- US$49.4mn for buying out the existing minority shareholders
- US$15mn as primary equity infusion; will be mainly used for capex (GMP expansion at the existing Princeton facility)
- Deal is valued at a low-to-mid teens multiple of CY25 projected EBITDA, based on growth outlook
- Call/Put Option arrangement to acquire balance stake after 5 years
Based in Princeton, NJ Bio is a ADC/XDC-focused CRDMO offering cutting-edge solutions across the ADC value chain. It was founded by Dr Naresh Jain, a well renowned scientist in the ADC space, holding PhD from Boston University & Post Doctoral Research Fellow at The Scripps Research Institute, California. He had previously founded The Chemical Research Solution LLC (an ADC CRO) and served in senior R&D roles at J&J for 8+ years. NJ Bio has served 150+ customers, delivered over 500 projects in 5 years, and won the prestigious World ADC Awards for four consecutive years (2021- 24).
"The ADC outsourcing market, valued at $2.7bn, is projected to grow at 25%+ annually. This acquisition positions Suven as a key player in one of the fastest growing segments of the Pharma CDMO landscape and extends Suven’s current ADC offering with expertise across payload chemistry, payload-linker synthesis, bioconjugation, and ADCspecific analytical platform," the release stated.
Dr. Jain will continue to lead NJ Bio in the next phase of its growth, along with the senior leadership group and a skilled scientific workforce that he has brought together over the years. NJ Bio is expected to record revenues of ~US$32 million in CY24, reflecting a 70%+ CAGR since CY2021. The Company has consistently invested in R&D to develop novel technology platforms related to ADC drug development as well as a more recently set up a cGMP compliant manufacturing facility. The transaction is expected to close before the end of December 2024.
On this acquisition our Executive Chairman, Vivek Sharma, said, “We are very excited to partner with Dr Jain and his team and welcome them to the Suven family. This transaction is in line with our vision of being a technology-led CDMO, offering end-to-end solutions in emerging modalities like ADCs. NJ Bio’s capabilities and established customer relationships will accelerate Suven’s journey as a global leader in this fast-growing ADC/XDC segment which is emerging as a very important modality and has improved the lives of well over 100,000 patients already.”
Dr. V. Prasada Raju, MD, Suven added, “Through NJ Bio, we deepen our pioneering expertise and offerings across the ADC value chain, from R&D to commercialization. NJ Bio’s capabilities in drug discovery and early-stage development gives us the much-desired early entry point in the customer’s ADC drug development cycle while also giving us access to ADC focused innovator companies with longstanding relationships.”
Dr. Naresh Jain, Founder & CEO, NJ Bio said, “NJ Bio has, over the last few years, created enormous value for our clients by solving complex ADC challenges. We have been instrumental in moving our client’s discovery programs to rapid proof-of-concept and clinical manufacturing. Now, I am thrilled to announce that NJ Bio will strategically partner with Suven, a technology-led CDMO, which will enable NJ Bio to also provide its clients with expanded capabilities from discovery to commercial manufacturing. I am confident that with NJ Bio and Suven’s synergistic capabilities, we will emerge as a leading global CDMO in ADCs and other emerging modalities.”
Read also: Suven Pharma appoints Vivek Sharma as new Executive Chairman
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