Cambridge, UK-based Abenza plc has acquired PacificGMP, a contract biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing company (CDMO) based in San Diego, CA.

PacificGMP provides contract process development and manufacture of biopharmaceuticals, including monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, vaccines, and gene therapy and cell therapy products. It was founded in 2005 and soon after adopted single-use manufacturing technology, which is increasingly being used to manufacture biopharmaceuticals. Its service offering includes process and analytical development, non-GMP and cGMP manufacturing, and regulatory support.

In the 12 months to July 2015 PacificGMP generated revenues of $3 million. Abzena is paying $7.7 million for the company, which will operate as an integrated member of the Abzena group of companies, including Antitope and PolyTherics.

Gary Pierce, chief executive officer and general counsel of PacificGMP, has become president, PacificGMP, and Leigh Pierce, PacificGMP’s president and chief science officer, has become chief technology officer, biomanufacturing. Both report to John Burt, chief executive officer, Abzena.

“Over the 10 years since founding PacificGMP, we have been fortunate to work on a broad array of exciting and complex projects with some of the leading physicians and researchers in the biotechnology arena,” said Mr. Pierce. “We’ve been able to bring our expertise in development and manufacturing to challenging large molecules and to support efforts against many life-threatening and debilitating diseases. We believe that joining Abzena will allow us to build on that capability, helping our partners to reach larger and more diverse populations and enable the development of new therapies, cures and vaccines.”

Mr. Burt added, “PacificGMP provides us with an ideal opportunity to expand our service offering into the high growth biopharmaceutical manufacturing arena and to establish an operational footprint in the U.S. This acquisition allows us to capture more customer value, provides significant cross-selling opportunities, and is expected to enhance the pace of adoption of Abzena’s technologies.”