Leeds’ 4D Pharma acquires Spanish pharmaceutical firm in €3m deal

4D Pharma plc, the Leeds-based pharmaceutical company focusing on the development of live biotherapeutics, has acquired Instituto Biomar, S.A., a Spanish-based contract research organisation specialising in microbial fermentation.

Biomar, based in León in north-west Spain, has been working as an outsourced development partner since 2014.

Formed in 1996, Biomar had initially focused on research into marine microorganisms and their use in pharmaceutical, bio-energy and food production. In 2001, the company began to expand its technologies into microbial fermentation, providing contract services in this field and expanding its production capabilities up to 3,000 litres in 2010.

4D has been working with Biomar on several development projects generated by the MicroRx platform, as well as providing a secondary or backup facility for both the Thetanix and Blautix programmes.

The transaction will see 4D Pharma León, S.L.U., a newly incorporated Spanish subsidiary, acquire the relevant business assets from Biomar, and take a lease at Biomar’s León premises.

Of the current Biomar staff, 13 will move over to 4D León as part of the transaction, with the expectation that a further five staff will be recruited over the next six months.

The consideration for the acquisition is €3m which is payable on completion, and of which €2m will be paid in cash, with the remaining €1m being satisfied by the issue of 82,349 4D shares, at a price of £9.805 (being the average mid-market price of a 4D share for the five business days immediately preceding completion of the acquisition).

In addition, a further €3m will become payable in cash dependent upon GMP certification in respect of the production of live biotherapeutics at the León premises.

Alex Stevenson, 4D’s chief scientific officer, commented: “Over the past 12 months, we have witnessed first-hand the issues of relying on third party providers for the production of our product for clinical and development programmes.

“As our pace of development continues, with more of our programmes moving towards the clinic, 4D needs continued access to its own facilities to meet the challenges of our ambitious clinical development programmes, but also in looking forward to our initial production requirements.

“We have worked closely with Biomar and have been impressed not only with their technical knowledge, but also their willingness to work as part of a team and advance the understanding of this new field. We felt that both the facility and team would be an ideal fit for 4D, providing continuous access to facilities under our control but also importantly the ability to expand.”

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