Flerie Invest AB leads $52m acquisition of Swedish Biopharma Facility from Charles River

Major expansion of DNA, RNA, protein and advanced therapy R&D and GMP-manufacture

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Oct. 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Flerie Invest, a biotech and pharma investment firm with offices in Stockholm and London, led a syndicate of investors in the $52m acquisition of Charles River Laboratories Inc’s DNA and protein manufacturing subsidiary Cobra Biologics Matfors AB, including its 7,000 square-meter facility in Matfors, Sweden. The new entity will be called NorthX Biologics AB.

The facility houses an existing cleanroom infrastructure, process development and quality control laboratories, as well as warehouse space, and is equipped to provide GMP-grade plasmid DNA and technical protein manufacture at commercial scale. Further investment and expansion of the facility and its current 128 employee roster is expected to begin immediately. This will result in added biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing capacity, including RNA and cell therapies, and will catalyse R&D and manufacturing partnerships across the Nordics, EU and beyond.

“This acquisition is a major investment for us and fits well with Flerie’s strategy of investing in the gene and cell therapy space in Europe and the US,” said Thomas Eldered, President of Flerie Invest.

“I look forward to working with the highly competent staff in Matfors to help grow innovative biotech companies, and to create security of supply of drugs and vaccines, and so be better prepared for future pandemics,” added Ted Fjällman, Partner Flerie Invest and CEO of NorthX Biologics.

About Flerie Invest AB

Flerie Invest is a biotech and pharma investor managing a portfolio of more than 16 companies in Sweden, UK, US, the Netherlands, Iceland and Israel. The investment focus is on drug development and tools for drug development. The company was founded in 2010 by Thomas Eldered, who also co-founded and built Recipharm to be one of the top five CDMOs globally. Flerie Invest, with offices in Stockholm and London, is an active member of SwedenBIO and the British Venture Capital Association (BVCA).

For information contact:

Thomas Eldered, President Flerie Invest, contact(at)flerie.com, +46 (0)8 55921870
Ted Fjällman, CEO NorthX Biologics, media(at)nxbio.com, +46 (0)8 55926888