Arana Therapeutics Ltd.

Merck has completed the acquisition of Mirus Bio for approximately USD 600 million (around EUR 550 million), following regulatory clearances and the fulfillment of other customary closing conditions. The acquisition is a strategic step towards Merck's ambition to offer solutions for every step of viral vector manufacturing. It also reinforces the company’s commitment to supporting customers in advancing cell and gene therapies from preclinical through commercial production. Merck acquired Mirus Bio from Gamma Biosciences, a life sciences platform established by global investment firm KKR. "Novel modalities like cell and gene therapies offer tremendous potential for bringing new curative treatments to patients,” said Sebastian Arana, Head of Process Solutions, Life Science business of Merck. “Mirus Bio’s advanced technology, combined with our bioprocessing expertise and broad portfolio, will enable us to deliver integrated solutions across the viral vector value chain and help meet the growing demand for these life-saving therapies,” Arana added. Mirus Bio specializes in the development and commercialization of transfection reagents, such as TransIT-VirusGEN. These reagents play a critical role in the production of viral vector-based gene therapies. The addition of Mirus Bio’s leading transfection reagents strengthens Merck’s upstream portfolio and allows for an integrated viral vector manufacturing offering. Mirus Bio’s leading transfection technologies further strengthen Merck’s existing portfolio. Merck’s Life Science business sector provides solutions for every step of the viral vector manufacturing process to advance cell and gene therapies from preclinical through commercial production. Its portfolio is one of the broadest in the industry and includes cell lines, cell culture media, process materials like chemicals, buffers and enzymes, as well as systems, filters, hardware and consumables. Merck’s expertise covers a variety of viral vector types, including adeno-associated virus, lentivirus, and adenovirus. Additionally, the company offers contract testing and comprehensive CDMO services for viral vector manufacturing, leveraging three decades of experience supporting cell and gene therapies.

Merck has completed the acquisition of Mirus Bio for approximately USD 600 million (around EUR 550 million), following regulatory clearances and the fulfillment of other customary closing conditions. The acquisition is a strategic step towards Merck's ambition to offer solutions for every step of viral vector manufacturing. It also reinforces the company’s commitment to supporting customers in advancing cell and gene therapies from preclinical through commercial production. Merck acquired Mirus Bio from Gamma Biosciences, a life sciences platform established by global investment firm KKR. "Novel modalities like cell and gene therapies offer tremendous potential for bringing new curative treatments to patients,” said Sebastian Arana, Head of Process Solutions, Life Science business of Merck. “Mirus Bio’s advanced technology, combined with our bioprocessing expertise and broad portfolio, will enable us to deliver integrated solutions across the viral vector value chain and help meet the growing demand for these life-saving therapies,” Arana added. Mirus Bio specializes in the development and commercialization of transfection reagents, such as TransIT-VirusGEN. These reagents play a critical role in the production of viral vector-based gene therapies. The addition of Mirus Bio’s leading transfection reagents strengthens Merck’s upstream portfolio and allows for an integrated viral vector manufacturing offering. Mirus Bio’s leading transfection technologies further strengthen Merck’s existing portfolio. Merck’s Life Science business sector provides solutions for every step of the viral vector manufacturing process to advance cell and gene therapies from preclinical through commercial production. Its portfolio is one of the broadest in the industry and includes cell lines, cell culture media, process materials like chemicals, buffers and enzymes, as well as systems, filters, hardware and consumables. Merck’s expertise covers a variety of viral vector types, including adeno-associated virus, lentivirus, and adenovirus. Additionally, the company offers contract testing and comprehensive CDMO services for viral vector manufacturing, leveraging three decades of experience supporting cell and gene therapies.

Promix Solutions will showcase its mixing nozzle and other key components for saving raw materials at the Fakuma show in Friedrichshafen, Germany, from 17-21th October 2023, in hall A2, booth 2105. A manufacturer of an inhaler housings from Asia was struggling with colour streaks in their injection moulded components. The result was an above-average reject rate and causing high costs for quality control, since each housing had to be checked for possible defects. Increasing the back pressure, a common solution for this type of defect, brought only a slight improvement while resulting in longer cycle times and, as a consequence, lower productivity. After installing a Promix Solutions mixing nozzle, the colour streaks were said to have been eliminated, with the cycle times changed back to normal settings and shortened by a further four seconds. This resulted in an overall productivity increase which the customer puts at 12.5%. “The investment costs for the Promix mixing nozzle were paid back within 2 months, thanks to the quality improvements and cost savings achieved,” says the plant manager. “Not only that, the higher homogenising capacity in the mixing nozzle allowed the back pressure to be reduced from 280 bar to 80 bar, which corresponds to a reduction of around 70%. As a result, it was possible to significantly reduce wear on the gearbox and thus maintenance costs.” “If you look closely, you will find machines in a lot of injection moulding companies that are not running optimally and injection moulded parts that are causing problems,” explains Rolf Heusser, CEO of Promix Solutions. “You can think of increased cycle times, part warpage, colour streaks, high masterbatch consumption or weak points in flow seams, the challenges are adamant. But, often these problems can be solved simply and cost-effectively. Our mixing nozzles can be delivered ready for connection within a few weeks and in many cases help to eliminate quality problems, increase productivity and reduce the CO2 footprint.”