Ampersand Capital Partners, a private equity firm specializing in growth equity investments in the life sciences and healthcare sectors, has closed its acquisition of Nektar Therapeutics’ PEGylation reagent manufacturing business.
 
The new Ampersand portfolio company will be branded Gannet BioChem and will continue to operate out of its state-of-the-art facility in Huntsville, Alabama. Ampersand also acquired Biologos LLC, a full-service manufacturer of custom and standard cell culture media, reagents, buffers, enzymes and sera, earlier this year.
 
With over 30 years of expertise, Gannet BioChem is a proven specialty CDMO leader in developing, scaling, and manufacturing polyethylene glycol (PEG) reagents—critical components in advanced biopharmaceutical and therapeutic products. It delivers the following capabilities:
 

• End-to-End GMP Production: From raw material sourcing to manufacturing and packaging, ensuring exceptional quality and reliability across every stage of the supply chain.
• FDA-Approved Applications: Development and production of PEG reagents used in nine FDA-approved therapeutics over facility’s history.
• Commercial Impact: Supplying PEG reagents for several currently marketed drugs.
• Flexible Facility: Designed to efficiently handle small-scale and commercial-scale production needs.
• Expert Team: An experienced workforce with an average tenure of 13 years, ensuring consistent quality and innovation.
• Expansion-Ready Infrastructure: A 124,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility with dedicated small and large-scale production areas and operational capacity for future growth.
• Strategic Location: Situated in Huntsville, Alabama, Gannet BioChem benefits from its proximity to the USA’s second-largest life sciences research park.
• Legacy of Quality: Gannet BioChem’s FDA-inspected facility maintains an exceptional compliance record, underlining its commitment to quality and reliability.

 
“We are thrilled to introduce Gannet BioChem as a new, independent PEG reagents CDMO,” said David Anderson, General Partner at Ampersand Capital Partners. “The PEG reagent manufacturing team at Gannet BioChem has a well-established track record and long history of delivering high-quality, specialized PEG reagents for commercial and clinical stage biologic therapeutics.  We are well-equipped to build on that legacy with the support of Ampersand’s resources and expertise in life sciences partnerships. Gannet BioChem is poised for continued success and strategic growth as a trusted partner to biopharmaceutical innovators globally.”

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