FairJourney Biologics and Iontas, two Clinical Research Organizations (CROs) in antibody discovery services, have combined their operations to create an international platform and provide their industry leading services to global biopharma. The transaction was facilitated by investment from GHO Capital.
 
The group will offer antibody discovery and engineering services using both phage and mammalian display technologies and fully validated immune and naïve libraries, continuing to operate from labs in Porto, Portugal and in Cambridge, UK. The combination enables antibodies to be identified without the need for additional optimization, thereby reducing the risk of delays during development and subsequent scale up to manufacturing.
 
FairJourney and Iontas will continue their announced collaboration to expedite the identification of effective antibodies for a therapeutic to treat COVID-19 patients.
 
As a part of the transaction, Iontas’ emergent KnotBody technology has been spun out into a new drug development company, Maxion Therapeutics formed by John McCafferty.
 
Antonio Parada, CEO of FairJourney Biologics, commented, “We have a great understanding of Iontas’ reputation and service offering as a long-term competitor. Following the collaboration agreement reached with Iontas earlier this year in relation to the coronavirus outbreak, it was evident that we shared the same values in offering premium service with innovative technologies, making Iontas a natural fit within the FairJourney Group. This deal represents an important step in the continued growth and internationalization of FairJourney, and we look forward to working with Iontas as one team.”