Analytical Service Leaders in Biopharmaceutical and Gene Therapy Development Unify Operations and Re-brand as ProtaGene

The three legacy companies‘ combined strength and experience provides the most advanced, integrated, and complete protein and gene analytic service offering for biological therapeutics and cell & gene therapy platforms, all the way from discovery to commercialization.

Protagen Protein Services, a leading global analytic CRO and expert in protein science, and BioAnalytix, a U.S.-based advanced analytics and data analysis firm, combined in April 2019.

GeneWerk, with unique capabilities in vector safety, integration site analysis, and bioinformatics, merged into the group in 2021, creating ProtaGene, a portfolio company of Ampersand Capital Partners.

Martin Blüggel, CEO of ProtaGene and the founder of Protagen Protein Services, said: "We are very excited to launch ProtaGene. The track record and reputation of the three legacy entities are individually impressive, and their combination into a single, globally integrated business delivers significant compounded value for our sponsors. Our new scale and breadth of expertise will benefit the impressive list of innovative products we support, both in development and on the market, and ultimately deliver for patients worldwide. We are passionate in our vision to establish ProtaGene as the world’s leading CRO partner in biologics and cell & gene therapy markets."

Kirtland Poss, CEO-US of ProtaGene and the founder of BioAnalytix, added, "Our collective expertise and unwavering delivery in both protein and gene analytics are well established. By combining our capabilities, platforms and knowledge, we can now provide our U.S.-based biopharmaceutical and gene therapy customers advanced access to the broadest analytical offering from discovery to market, from a single vendor relationship."

Annette Deichmann, Senior Vice President of Cell & Gene Therapy at ProtaGene and the cofounder of GeneWerk, said: "We are delighted to embark on this journey, where we will continue to employ our unique expertise and method innovation in cell & gene therapy. Our unique experience in gene analytics – especially integration site analysis, vector purity, vector copy numbers, and bioinformatics analysis for preclinical development and clinical trials – will support many innovators in taking breakthrough therapies to the clinic."

ProtaGene also launched a new corporate website at www.protagene.com.

About Ampersand Capital Partners

Founded in 1988, Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm with more than $2 billion of assets under management dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector.

With offices in Boston and Amsterdam, Ampersand leverages its unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive superior long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Ampersand has helped build numerous market-leading companies across each of the firm’s core healthcare sectors. Additional information about Ampersand is available at www.ampersandcapital.com.