30th November 2023 — Today Scantox, together with its majority owner Impilo, has agreed to acquire the neuropharmacology division of QPS Austria GmbH (“QPS Neuro” or “the Company”) ultimately owned by QPS Holdings LLC. QPS Neuro is a leading drug discovery Contract Research Organization (CRO) that specializes in neurodegenerative, rare diseases and mental disorders. The Company is well recognized for its high quality services that are deeply scientifically rooted and has an undisputed track-record of serving a loyal and broad customer base globally. This transformational acquisition will expand Scantox’s value chain coverage and reposition its existing drug discovery platform significantly with unique and market leading central nervous system (CNS) research capabilities.
Founded in 1999, QPS Neuro has a long history of developing expertise within lead-optimization services and efficacy studies. The Company has a 2,700 m2 state-of-the-art facility in Grambach, Austria, and employs more than 80 employees. With on-site availability of validated transgenic and non-transgenic in-vitro and in-vivo models, QPS Neuro addresses multiple targets within the growing CNS area and represents a unique partner for biotech and pharma companies in their drug development process.
“The acquisition of QPS Neuro is meaningfully changing our lead optimization platform and expands the depth and breadth of our discovery services in the CNS and rare disease area. We see a strong fit with the Scantox organization and are deeply impressed with the dedicated management team, its staff and R&D efforts focused on providing an enhanced level of service and scientific excellence to their clients.” says Jeanet Løgsted, CEO of Scantox.
Manuela Prokesch, Director of QPS Neuro, continues: “This is a unique opportunity for us to join a preclinical market leader, known for their high quality and customer centric approach. We are looking forward to leveraging the synergies across the Scantox organization while continuing to deliver the best customized solutions to our clients.”
QPS Neuro will continue its operations as part of the Scantox group. The combined company will have more than 300 employees across six sites offering discovery models including neuropharmacology research services, regulatory toxicology and CMC/analytical services.
Nicholas Hooge, Partner at Impilo, concludes, “This is a transformational acquisition for Scantox that broadens its service offering and customer reach significantly. We are thrilled to welcome the QPS Neuro team into the Scantox group and see significant growth opportunities for the combined business going forward. As demonstrated by this acquisition, Impilo continues to have strong conviction in the broader pre-clinical market and look forward to continuing working with the enlarged group to further expand its service offering and to strengthen its position globally.”
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Financing to be sustainability-linked
As part of the transaction, Scantox has successfully signed a financing agreement with Nordea and Nykredit that contains sustainability-linked provisions. The financing package is set to reflect the company’s proactive approach to integrating sustainable practices into its commercial strategy.
Advisors
Lincoln International is serving as corporate finance advisor to Scantox, EY is serving as its financial and tax advisor, L.E.K. Consulting as its commercial advisor and Accura together with DORDA are serving as its legal counsel. Perella Weinberg Partners is serving as financial advisor to QPS Holdings, KPMG is serving as its tax advisor and Ropes & Gray together with Wolf Theiss are serving as its legal counsel.
For further information, please contact
Dr. Jeanet Løgsted, CEO of Scantox, Communications@scantox.com
Dr. Manuela Prokesch, Director of QPS Neuro, Manuela.Prokesch@qps.com
Nicholas Hooge, Partner at Impilo, Nicholas.Hooge@Impilo.se
About Scantox
Scantox is the leading Nordic pre-clinical GLP-accredited CRO, focused on pharmacology and regulatory toxicology, headquartered in Denmark with subsidiaries in Sweden and Denmark. Based on decades of experience, Scantox is a trusted partner for product development services within the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical devices industries, with a world known expertise within the Göttingen minipigs. Scantox’s services enable clients to progress their drug or device development based on solid data to the highest technical and scientific standards. Founded in 1977, Scantox is today owned by Impilo, the leading Nordic healthcare investment company.
About QPS Neuro
QPS Neuro, the neuropharmacology division of QPS Austria GmbH, is highly experienced and specialized within preclinical CNS services. QPS Neuro has developed its reputation since 1999 as a high quality CRO and a leading specialist within Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, Dementia, Niemann-Pick, Gaucher, Autism, Schizophrenia, Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration and other neurodegenerative and rare diseases. The Company’s reputation within CNS is further enhanced by its strong capabilities in pre-clinical efficacy studies including in vitro molecular and cellular analysis and proprietary in vivo transgenic mouse and rat models with associated analytics offered to a broad portfolio of customers.
About Impilo
Impilo is a Nordic investment company focused on long-term investments in sustainable healthcare companies active in pharmaceuticals, medical technology, healthcare services, and other health-related areas. Impilo strives to increase the value of its investments through long-term active ownership. Impilo has a well-diversified portfolio of investments and has raised c. EUR 1 billion in capital from leading Nordic and international investors since its inception in 2017.