Asahi Kasei Medical to acquire US-based CDMO Bionova Scientific

Asahi plans to use the CDMO to propel its bioprocess business

Asahi Kasei Medical is the arm of Asahi Kasei Group best known for its sale of Planova filters and bioprocess equipment. It has been expanding in recent years into the field of biosafety contract testing with the 2019 acquisition of Austrian viral safety testing services provider Virusure Forschung und Entwicklung GmbH, followed by the 2021 acquisition of US-based Bionique Testing Laboratories. 

Bionova Scientific is known for its highly-regarded process development capabilities, particularly in the area of complex next-generation antibody drugs, which are typically challenging to manufacture.   

Its GMP manufacturing facility, located in California, has state-of-the-art equipment including single-use bioreactors, suited to meet rising demand driven by the expansion of the antibody drug market and a steep increase in the number of biopharmaceuticals entering the clinical pipeline. 

Asahi Kasei Medical says it will use the acquisition of Bionova to propel its bioprocess business. 

Ken Shinomiya, Director at Asahi Kasei Medical, commented that the company is ‘thrilled’ to announce the acquisition.  

‘After an in-depth evaluation of Bionova and other biologics CDMOs, we are extremely impressed with Bionova’s scientific strength, their best-in-class facility and their passionate team that is both highly technically capable and extremely attentive to customer needs. They are the ideal organization to serve as the foundation for our entry into the biopharmaceutical CDMO services business,’ he said.  

Bionova Scientific CEO Darren Head added, ‘We are extremely excited to become a part of Asahi Kasei.  This represents an important step in our evolution as a company and provides access to new resources that will enable us to continue to add to our capacity and capabilities.’ 

Closing of the acquisition is subject to receipt of necessary regulatory clearances.