Nottingham pharma firm makes £4.1m German swoop

Nottingham-based Oncimmune Holdings, the company which provides services for the screening, detection and care of cancer, has bought German firm Protagen Diagnostics for £4.1m.

Protagen develops precision medicine and patient stratification tools for pharmaceutical multinationals in both immuno-oncology and autoimmune disease. These tools support drug development, improve treatment strategies and patient management.

QIAGEN has been involved with Protagen as an investor in the past and will continue to be an investor in Oncimmune following the deal.

Dr Adam M Hill, chief executive of Oncimmune, said: “The acquisition of Protagen will accelerate Oncimmune’s product discovery process, will grow our library of known and novel immunogenic proteins, and will underpin the group’s ability to deliver value through the development of complementary diagnostics, a key component of our three-year forward strategy.

“Protagen’s biomarker discovery expertise and high throughput antigen screening technology are all highly synergistic to Oncimmune’s current capabilities. I look forward to working with our new colleagues to grow our company.”