Ampersand Announces Sale of Nexelis
Formed in 2015 as a spin-out from GSK’s Vaccine Clinical Laboratory Services unit in Laval, Nexelis is a leading provider of assay development and advanced laboratory testing services supporting drug development in the infectious disease, metabolic, and oncologic fields. In 2018, Ampersand partnered with management and acquired Nexelis, positioning the company to pursue an aggressive growth plan. Today the company maintains five operating sites in North America and Europe which are staffed by a world-class team of scientists. Nexelis has been instrumental in the development, qualification, validation, and large-scale sample testing of assays that supported the FDA filing of almost 350 new molecular entities, including blockbuster vaccines and biologics, anti-viral drugs, immunotherapies, and gene and cell therapy products.
“The support and guidance from the Ampersand team on strategy and execution over the past three years has been instrumental to the Nexelis growth story,” said Benoit Bouche, President & CEO of Nexelis. “Together we have built a global organization with leading expertise in immunology and vaccine testing. We are excited to continue to expand our capabilities, capacity and global reach with our biopharma and biotech customers’ needs at the front of mind.”
Eric Lev, General Partner of Ampersand Capital Partners, added, “It has been extremely rewarding to partner with Benoit and the entire team at Nexelis in building one of the leading advanced laboratory testing companies supporting clinical trials. Ampersand is proud of the company’s tireless efforts in supporting the development of life-saving treatments during our ownership period, and believe the organization is well positioned to continue to provide essential testing services to its worldwide customers.”
About Ampersand Capital Partners
Founded in 1988, Ampersand is a middle market private equity firm with more than $2 billion of assets under management dedicated to growth-oriented investments in the healthcare sector. With offices in Boston and Amsterdam, Ampersand leverages its unique blend of private equity and operating experience to build value and drive superior long-term performance alongside its portfolio company management teams. Ampersand has helped build numerous market-leading companies across each of the firm’s core healthcare sectors. Additional information about Ampersand is available at ampersandcapital.com.