Horizon Discovery Group plc Acquires Haplogen Genomics GmbH

Horizon Discovery Group has agreed to acquire Haplogen Genomics GmbH, a biotechnology company based in Vienna, Austria, for an initial consideration of £6.0 million (approximately €7.7 million) in cash and the issue of new ordinary shares with further potential earn-out payments based on future performance to be satisfied by the issue of new ordinary shares having an aggregate value of up to approximately £3.9 million (€5.0 million).

The Haplogen Genomics platform represents a novel way to generate precisely engineered human cell lines efficiently and at a price that places genome editing within the reach of the broader academic research market through the use of haploid cells. Haploid cellular models (cells with only one copy of genes) offer a biologically relevant system for in vitro genetic analyses, but can be much easier to generate than normal cell lines as only one copy of a gene instead of the normal two needs to be targeted to generate a complete knock out.

The acquisition provides Horizon with a proprietary high-throughput cell line generation platform based on human haploid genetics that increases its cell line inventory by over 10-fold and simultaneously enables an on-demand cell line development service to be launched in the first quarter of 2015. Combined, these will significantly strengthen the company’s position in the rapidly growing academic genomics research market.

The platform also underpins a high-throughput functional genomics screening service offering to academic, biotech and pharma customers, complementing Horizon’s existing small and large molecule drug screening offerings.

The products and services acquired fit optimally within Horizon’s pre-existing business and sales infrastructure, allowing these offers to be commercialized immediately.

This acquisition builds upon those of the CombinatoRx screening business (from Zalicus Inc.) in June 2014 and SAGE Labs Inc. in September 2014, further enhancing Horizon’s capability to provide customers with a fully-integrated product, service and research offering at all stages of the translational genomics and personalized medicine research continuum, from sequence to treatment.


Dr Darrin M Disley, CEO of Horizon Discovery Group, commented: "We have seen increasing interest in Haplogen Genomics’ offerings from all customer segments including academic researchers, drug development companies and research tools providers since we started working with them. Given mounting interest from other potential acquirers, we are delighted that Haplogen Genomics recognized Horizon’s leadership in translational genomics and have agreed to become part of the Horizon Discovery Group.

“This acquisition is a continuation of our ambition, stated at the time of our IPO, of expanding our intellectual property portfolio, product development capabilities and commercial offerings to gain broader access to important markets, especially basic academic research. The team in Vienna has proven in a short time that they can be a very effective and competitive force in the field of genome engineering, and we look forward to working with them to revolutionize the genomics field by enabling access to first-in-class products and services that disrupt the status quo."