Business Wire

UNIVERCELLS

18.2.2020 13:02:08 CET | Business Wire | Press release

Share
Univercells Secures up to €50M Investment from KKR Platform to Speed Delivery of Manufacturing Technologies

Univercells, an innovative bioprocessing provider focused on increasing the availability of affordable biologics to address global health challenges, has announced up to EUR 50M financing from Gamma Biosciences, a new investment platform supported by leading global investment firm KKR, that is focused on next-generation bioprocessing technologies for the production of advanced biologic therapies including gene- and cell-based therapies. The investment will be deployed in a newly created subsidiary of Univercells focused on accelerating the industrialization and commercialization of Univercells’ manufacturing technologies, including the NevoLine™ biomanufacturing platform and the scale-X™ bioreactor portfolio.

With the new financing, Univercells will focus on scaling the NevoLine platform and the scale-X portfolio with a comprehensive approach to streamline production, fund innovation, enable new product and application development and drive commercial acceleration. Specifically, the investment is intended to support continued expansion into the fast-growing gene therapy segment, including new developments that will enable a range of best-in-class solutions for viral manufacturing.

“KKR and Gamma will open access to an unparalleled global network, enabling accelerated production and delivery of the NevoLine and scale-X technologies and driving commercialization,” said Hugues Bultot, CEO of Univercells. “Aligning with high-end sponsors such as KKR that back our mission to have a positive impact on global health is a true honor for our team. This investment builds on existing grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , Global Health Investment Fund and European Investment Bank and secures our ability to create value for the market with speed, efficacy and reliability.”

Both the scale-X bioreactor portfolio and the NevoLine biomanufacturing platform have been designed and commercially validated to reduce dramatically the footprint, capital and operational expenditures required to produce a variety of biologic and viral products. The investment is driven by a shared desire to make these breakthrough technologies more readily accessible and positively impact global health via effective, cost-controlled production solutions.

“KKR, through Gamma Biosciences, seeks to back innovative and impactful next-generation bioprocessing technologies, which is why we are excited to be investing in Univercells and its mission to deliver affordable biologics and gene therapies globally. Furthermore, we are excited to be working with Hugues and his team, who have a fantastic track record of building innovative biomanufacturing companies.” said Kugan Sathiyanandarajah, Director at KKR and Head of Europe for KKR’s Health Care Strategic Growth investing efforts, and Anuv Ratan, Principal at KKR.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2020. Once the transaction is complete, Univercells’ remaining business will concentrate on developing a portfolio of vaccines and biosimilars to be delivered at an affordable price and establishing its services offering.

About Univercells

Univercells is a business-to-business provider focused on increasing the availability of affordable biologics to address global health challenges. The company is developing turnkey solutions for a series of vaccines and biotherapeutics to be delivered at an affordable price. By relying on proprietary core technologies and a continuous process intensification approach, production is achieved with a smaller footprint and significantly lower overall capital and operational costs.
A global company headquartered in Gosselies (Belgium), Univercells benefits from the support of prominent stakeholders such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Global Health Investment Fund and the European Investment Bank.

www.univercells.com

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR's investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR's website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

About Gamma Biosciences

Gamma Biosciences is a life sciences tools platform created by KKR. Gamma’s mission is to build a leading player in next-generation bioprocessing for advanced therapies by acquiring or investing in high-potential businesses with outstanding technology and accelerating their growth.

About Business Wire

Business Wire
Business Wire
101 California Street, 20th Floor
CA 94111 San Francisco

http://businesswire.com

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

Money20/20 Europe Celebrates Ten Years of Industry Leadership as AI, Digital Assets and Financial Sovereignty Take Centre Stage8.6.2026 17:37:00 CEST | Press release

Money20/20, the world's leading fintech show and the place where money does business, celebrated a major milestone with its 10th Europe edition, convening more than 7,500 attendees, one in three at C-suite level, and over 2,300 companies from over 105 countries in Amsterdam, for three days of industry-defining announcements, strategic partnerships, and dealmaking that set the agenda for the future of financial services. Featuring more than 450 speakers across six stages, Money20/20 Europe welcomed leaders from banking, fintech, payments, policy, technology and digital assets to explore the forces reshaping the future of money. “This year’s show demonstrated that financial services have entered a new phase of transformation,” said Bryony Naylor, Vice President of Money20/20 Europe. “Across the show floor and on stage, we saw leaders move beyond discussing what’s next to actively building it. From AI and digital identity to financial sovereignty and digital assets, the conversations and

Liberty Latin America Selects BTS as Exclusive A2P Messaging Managed Services Partner Across All Its Markets8.6.2026 17:36:00 CEST | Press release

BTS announced today that it has been chosen as the exclusive provider of managed A2P SMS services for Liberty Latin America (LLA), supporting the company’s efforts to strengthen revenue protection, fraud mitigation, traffic intelligence, and operational visibility across its markets. The agreement reinforces LLA’s A2P messaging strategy throughout a broad regional footprint and establishes a coordinated operating model to improve control, visibility, and monetization of A2P traffic across its markets. The partnership will support revenue maximization, stronger fraud protection and grey-route mitigation, enhanced real-time traffic visibility, operational reporting and analytics, revenue assurance, and 24x7x365 managed services support. The agreement spans 25 markets and reflects a high level of operational trust in BTS’ ability to deliver consistent performance across diverse regulatory, technical, and commercial environments. “This agreement gives us a stronger and more consistent oper

The Estée Lauder Companies Strengthens UK Manufacturing Network as Whitman Facility Celebrates 60 Years of British Craftsmanship8.6.2026 17:14:00 CEST | Press release

As The Estée Lauder Companies’ (NYSE: EL) Whitman manufacturing facility celebrates its 60th anniversary, the company today announced a strategic investment that will strengthen its UK manufacturing network, further reinforcing its long-standing commitment to British craftsmanship, innovation, and growth in prestige fragrance. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260608415843/en/ From left to right: Jo Dancey, Global Brand President, Jo Malone London; Alex Gregorian, SVP, Global Manufacturing & Engineering; Roberto Canevari, Chief Value Chain Officer; Nadine Graf, President, EUKEM; Stéphane de La Faverie, President and Chief Executive Officer; William P. Lauder, Chair of the Board of Directors; Maria Genouzos, VP, EUKEM and APAC Manufacturing; Pernilla Nyberg, SVP, General Manager, UK & Ireland; Jamal Chamariq, SVP, EUKEM & TR Value Chain; and Ben Smith, Whitman Plant Manager, celebrate the 60th anniversary of The

IQM and Real Asset Acquisition Corp. Announce Effectiveness of Registration Statement for Proposed Business Combination8.6.2026 16:16:00 CEST | Press release

RAAQ Extraordinary General Meeting Scheduled for June 25, 2026 IQM Finland Oy, a global leader in full-stack superconducting quantum computers (“IQM”, “IQM Quantum Computers” or the “Company”), and Real Asset Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: RAAQ), a special purpose acquisition company (“RAAQ”), announced today that the registration statement on Form F-4 (the “Registration Statement”), relating to their previously announced business combination, has been declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on June 5, 2026. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260608520188/en/ IQM Radiance quantum computer The extraordinary general meeting of RAAQ’s shareholders in connection with the proposed business combination (the “Extraordinary General Meeting”) will be held on June 25, 2026. The proxy statement/prospectus relating to the Extraordinary General Meeting was mailed to RAAQ’s shareholders of record

Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance to Launch in 2027!8.6.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release

– Monster Hunter: World, released in 2018, surpassed 30 million units as Capcom looks to expand its global user base – Capcom Co., Ltd. (TOKYO:9697) today announced that Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance, a massive expansion for Monster Hunter Wilds, is scheduled for release in 2027. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260608183725/en/ Monster Hunter Wilds Ascendance key art Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance is a massive expansion (paid content) for Monster Hunter Wilds, which was released in February 2025. As a continuation of the main game’s story, the expansion will further deepen the gameplay experience with new content including new quest ranks, locales, additional monsters and expanded weapon actions through new gameplay features. The company is currently developing the title for release in 2027. Capcom is also developing Monster Hunter Wilds for Nintendo Switch™ 2 in addition to the existing platforms. Furthe

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye