Troubled Loughborough life sciences firm sold
Derbyshire-based drug discovery, development and manufacturing organisation, Concept Life Sciences (CLS), which is backed by mid-market private equity investment firm Limerston Capital, has completed the acquisition of troubled Charnwood Discovery.
Based in Loughborough, Charnwood Discovery is a provider of drug discovery research with a global client base in the biotech and pharmaceutical sectors.
However, over recent weeks, the firm had endured an uncertain future. As TheBusinessDesk.com exclusively revealed on October 24, Charnwood Molecular and Aurelia Bioscience, which trade as Charnwood Discovery, both filed a second notice of intention (NOI) to appoint administrators on Thursday (October 24) after an initial NOI on October 11.
Lee Paterson, CEO of Charnwood Discovery, told TheBusinessDesk.com earlier in October: “On Friday 11th October, the directors of our group of companies – Charnwood Molecular and Aurelia Bioscience – have made the difficult decision to file a notice of intention to appoint administrators over these entities.
“I want to make it clear that this does not mean the [Group] is in administration, but it does however provide breathing space for the directors to continue to pursue new ownership opportunities to preserve the business and secure a sustainable future.”
That future now looks secure after the deal with High Peak-based Concept Life Sciences was revealed on Monday.
The deal comes at a time of uncertainty in the drug discovery CRO sector as the US Biosecure Act, passed by the House of Representatives in September 2024, could prohibit US customers from working with select Chinese CROs.
Concept says the integration of Charnwood Discovery’s talent and capabilities into Concept Life Sciences creates a “compelling” offering from a UK-based CRO with scale to serve global customers looking to pull away from Chinese providers and identify alternative providers with superior scientific capabilities. CROs located in countries with more regulatory certainties, and which have better IP protection will become more attractive in the marketplace, the firm says.
Dr Ben Cliff, CEO of Concept Life Services, said: “Charnwood Discovery brings an outstanding team of scientific talent and an extensive global client base. Like CLS, they are deeply committed to excellence and innovation in accelerating drug discovery. By combining our strengths, we’re able to fully integrate our capabilities and significantly speed up the progression of promising drug candidates from development through clinical trials to commercial production—at up to twice the pace of the industry average.”
Patterson added: “Concept Life Sciences has an excellent reputation as an innovative and dynamic player in our field, and we see enormous potential to develop our portfolio of high-value, rapidly growing services, while advancing the development of new and complex therapies in biotech and pharmaceutical industries as well as emerging modalities such as cell and gene therapies (CGT) and antibody-drug conjugates (ADC).
“Our customers will see the immediate benefit of new investment, as well as access to state-of-the-art facilities and collaboration with leading scientists and professionals at CLS.”
Jane Grewar, operating partner at Limerston Capital and Chairman of CLS, added: “We’re thrilled to welcome the Charnwood Discovery team to CLS.
“CLS has long been dedicated to driving innovation in support of our clients across biotech, pharmaceutical, small molecules, and emerging modalities such as cell and gene therapies (CGT) and antibody-drug conjugates (ADC).
“With the addition of Charnwood’s expertise in delivering fully integrated programs, we’re able to enhance our comprehensive offering and deliver truly cohesive solutions.
“This integration strengthens our ability to help clients identify and advance the best candidates to clinic faster, further reducing our industry-leading timelines and supporting their mission to deliver impactful therapies to patients.”
