Catalent and Delphi Genetics, a Belgian plasmid DNA cell and gene therapy CDMO, have announced they have entered an agreement wherein Catalent will acquire 100% of the shares of Delphi Genetics. Catalent is also announcing the launch of pDNA development and manufacturing services at its Rockville, Maryland facility.
Plasmid DNA is a key component in most gene therapy and gene-enabled cell therapy production processes. With these additional services, Catalent claims customers will be able to de-risk and optimise their programmes along the entire development pipeline.
Delphi’s operations are headquartered at a 17,000 sqft facility adjacent to Catalent’s current cell therapy facilities. Its services include process development, pilot production, plasmid design and production, strain screening and stability, which span from preclinical to Phase III applications, using single-use technology.
Catalent will also acquire the company’s proprietary Staby technology, an antibiotic-free selection system for plasmid and protein production in E. coli, which has been validated and licensed on a non-exclusive basis to leading pharmaceutical companies.
François Blondel, Chairman of the board and CEO of Delphi Genetics, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to team up with Catalent and, by combining with the companies it has already established in Belgium, create a European centre of excellence in cell and gene therapy. We believe Catalent will immediately benefit from our expertise and the recent investments we have made in CGMP capacity.”
Cédric Szpirer, founder and Executive Director of Delphi Genetics, said: “The complementary activities and adjacent technologies will provide our customers, our employees, and ultimately patients around the world with a solid foundation for new therapeutic solutions in the cell and gene therapy domain.”
The acquisition is part of Catalent’s US expansion of plasmid capabilities at its Rockville facility. Since acquiring the site in 2019, Catalent has invested to upgrade the facility with the addition of dedicated single-use microbial capacity for plasmid DNA production.
