UNIVERCELLS
18.2.2020 13:02:08 CET | Business Wire | Press release
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.
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.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200218005465/en/
About Business Wire
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
Kinaxis Recognized as a Leader in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ Reports for Supply Chain Planning23.3.2026 19:12:00 CET | Press release
Recognition based on company’s Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute Kinaxis® Inc. (TSX: KXS), a global leader in supply chain orchestration, today announced it has been positioned as a Leader in both the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Supply Chain Planning Solutions for Discrete Industries and the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Supply Chain Planning Solutions for Process Industries. In both reports, Gartner recognized Kinaxis for its ability to execute and completeness of vision. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260323129357/en/ Kinaxis Recognized as a Leader in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ Reports for Supply Chain Planning: Discrete Industries Kinaxis has been recognized as a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Supply Chain Planning Solutions for eleven times in a row. Kinaxis has also been recognized as a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Supply Chain Planning Solutions
Armis Centrix™ Named “Best Solution” for Cyber Exposure Management as Armis Wins Multiple Global InfoSec Awards at RSAC 202623.3.2026 17:00:00 CET | Press release
Armis awarded “Publisher’s Choice Cybersecurity Company”Yevgeny Dibrov received “Industry Pioneering CEO” Armis, the cyber exposure management & security company, today announced that it has won multiple Global InfoSec Awards from Cyber Defense Magazine at this year’s RSAC™ Conference. Armis received the following accolades: Armis Centrix™ won “Best Solution” for Cyber Exposure Management Armis named “Publisher’s Choice Cybersecurity Company” Yevgeny Dibrov, Armis’ CEO and Co-Founder, awarded “Industry Pioneering CEO” “We cannot safeguard modern infrastructure with yesterday’s tactics; the extended attack surface demands a unified, AI-driven approach that sees, protects and manages all assets (IT, OT, IoT, IoMT, applications, code, cloud and AI) in real time,” said Yevgeny Dibrov, CEO and Co-Founder of Armis. “Armis secures the most complex environments of organizations and governments worldwide to protect society from the destruction cybercriminals seek to cause. These awards reinforc
STOKR Appoints Subhankar Sinha as Senior Advisor23.3.2026 15:00:00 CET | Press release
Former BNY and PwC blockchain leader appointed to advance fund tokenization and STOKR's U.S. institutional expansion STOKR has appointed Subhankar Sinha as Senior Advisor. Sinha will work directly with STOKR's leadership team on fund tokenization with particular focus on money market fund (MMF) tokenization and on expanding STOKR's institutional presence in the U.S. market. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260323315236/en/ Image, Subhankar Sinha A New York-based digital assets executive, Sinha brings deep expertise across blockchain infrastructure, capital markets, and institutional business development. He previously served as Head of Blockchain at BNY, the world's largest custody and asset servicing business. Earlier in his career, he was a Director at PwC, where he co-founded and co-led the firm's blockchain consulting practice in the U.S. "Subhankar brings the institutional depth that this stage of STOKR's
Xsolla Partners With Cyprus Game Makers Association (CYGMA) as the Island Emerges as a Game Development Hub23.3.2026 14:00:00 CET | Press release
Strategic Partnership Equips Cyprus-Based Developers With the Commerce Infrastructure to Compete Globally Xsolla, a global video game commerce company that helps developers launch, grow, and monetize their games, today announced a strategic partnership with the Cyprus Game Makers Association (CYGMA). The collaboration will provide creators and studios within the CYGMA network with hands-on support, industry expertise, and access to world-class commerce tools, helping Cyprus-based studios bring their titles to players worldwide. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260323570679/en/ Graphic: Xsolla The partnership comes as Cyprus continues to attract game development talent, fueled by favorable business conditions and a growing creative community. Through its collaboration with CYGMA, Xsolla aims to accelerate momentum and expand opportunities for developers by removing commerce and distribution barriers that often p
Exein Unveils Next-Generation Runtime Security to Protect the AI-Native World23.3.2026 14:00:00 CET | Press release
Photon blocks cyberattacks before execution across physical AI and IoT, autonomous AI agents and cloud and edge infrastructure Kernel-level prevention sets a new standard beyond traditional user-space detection Builds on Exein’s position as the world’s largest runtime security provider, protecting over two billion devices Exein, the global leader in runtime cybersecurity, today unveiled Photon, a preemptive breakthrough solution that blocks cyberattacks at the point of execution. Designed for the AI-native world - where digital and physical systems are now inseparable - Photon marks a fundamental shift in how critical infrastructure protects itself. Unlike traditional cybersecurity solutions that detect threats after compromise - typically operating in user space and relying on a cloud network - Exein’s Photon operates directly inside the kernel, preventing malicious execution paths before they can run. By blocking attacks before the point of execution, the technology dramatically redu
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