The Quebec pharmaceutical contract research company NuChem Sciences is going into the hands of the British group Sygnature Discovery, which is already three times its size in terms of staff.
Founded in 2011, NuChem Sciences employs approximately 300 people in its three contract research activity centers located in Montreal and Lévis.
Its main development investors include the Montreal venture capital fund AmorChem, the government corporation Investissement Québec, the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).
As for the acquirer of NuChem, the Sygnature Discovery group, whose head office is located in Nottingham, England, it is already one of the big names in contract research in pharmaceuticals across the Atlantic.
On the eve of its 20th anniversary, Sygnature Discovery employs nearly 1,000 people across its four UK operations and two offices in Boston and San Francisco, USA.
Also, in its development capital, Sygnature Discovery has been counting for two years on the financial support of Five Arrows Principal Investments (FAPI).
With its 8 billion euros in assets under management, equivalent to 11 billion Canadian dollars, FAPI is one of the main private equity and venture capital subsidiaries for growth technology companies of the European financial group Rothschild.
Moreover, the purchase of the Quebec company NuChem Sciences represents a third growth acquisition made by Sygnature Discovery in less than two years.
Last January, it acquired the firm SB Drug Discovery, which employs around fifty researchers and technicians in Glasgow, Scotland.
A few months earlier, in April 2022, Sygnature Discovery had acquired a biopharmaceutical contract research firm, Peak Proteins, which employs around 30 people at its facilities located in Macclesfield, on the southern outskirts of Manchester, England.
Against this backdrop, according to Sygnature Discovery CEO Dr. Simon Hirst, the acquisition of NuChem Sciences in Canada “marks a key step in Sygnature’s growth plan”, as “this addition greatly enhances [its] offering.” in the pharmaceutical contract research market in North America.
Financial and business terms of the acquisition announced Tuesday are not disclosed.
It should be noted that NuChem Sciences had also stood out over the past two years with growth acquisitions in the Quebec pharmaceutical contract research community.
A little less than a year ago, in October 2022, NuChem Sciences acquired its Laval counterpart IniXium.
A few months earlier, in August 2021, NuChem Sciences had control of OmegaChem, a contract research company established in Lévis, on the South Shore of Quebec.
Activity: pharmaceutical contract research
Headquarters: Montreal (Borough of Saint-Laurent)
Workforce: 300 employees in three sites in Montreal and Lévis
Year of foundation: 2011
Main development investors: AmorChem Fund (Montreal), Investissement Québec, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC Capital)
Activity: pharmaceutical contract research
Headquarters: Nottingham, UK
Workforce: 1,000 employees in four locations in the UK, and two offices in Boston and San Francisco
Year of foundation: 2004
Principal equity investor: Five Arrows Principal Investments (London, an €8 billion corporate venture capital subsidiary of the Rothschild Financial Group