Covance Sells Off Antibody Business To BioLegend

Drug development services firm Covance has sold its shares of its business unit, Covance Antibody Services, to BioLegend. No financial terms of the transaction were disclosed by either company.

The Covance Antibody business unit is responsible for the development and production of antibodies and research reagents for several areas, including immunopathology, neuroscience, cell biology, and others. The unit also manufactures in vitro diagnostics for immunohistochemistry (IHC) detection.

Gene Lay, President and CEO of BioLegend, said that the acquisition fits into the company’s strategy to advance discoveries in neuroscience, and that, with Covance Antibody’s team and products, the company will be able to accelerate drug discovery projects.

Covance stated that its aim in divesting the unit was “to place it in an organization that better aligns with the focus of the group, [and an organization that] would value and grow the group to increase the business.” The transaction comes on the heels of Covance’s investment earlier this year in its biologics development facilities, as well as signing scientists into its biologics leadership team. Covance reported that it plans to double its large molecule capacity with the expansion of Indianapolis site this year, as well as add an estimated 100 new jobs. In recent years, the company has both bolstered and slimmed down its rankings by added new sites to its list of facilities, while also closing off several others in an attempt to cut costs.

In an interview with Outsourcing Pharma, BioLegend revealed that it plans to transfer the antibody unit’s other manufacturing processes to another site in San Diego. The acquisition will allow BioLegend to expand its selection for neuroscience research as well as its capacity for IHC. The company will also focus on developing more in vitro diagnostics as a result of the transaction.