Buying Protypia will help cater to the growing demand for bioanalytical services in the discovery lab and beyond, says Inotiv.
The non-clinical CRO announced the $11 million acquisition of Tennessee-based Protypia last week, citing its capabilities in protein bioanalysis and tissue-based protein and peptide mass spectrometry as the motivation for the deal.
“This highly-specialized technology and know-how significantly enhances our ability to support clients in the development of safe and effective medicines, particularly in the areas of immuno-oncology and cell and gene therapy,” Inotiv strategy officer John Sagartz said in a statement.
Sagartz cited drug discovery as a major focus. “The ability to precisely quantify protein levels in tissues, including paraffin-embedded tissues, opens exciting new avenues for scientists to explore as they investigate disease pathways,” he said.
This sentiment was echoed by Protypia founder and CEO Daniel Liebler, who suggested protein-level research could also be of use beyond the discovery lab.
“Biopsy-based protein characterization has the potential to segment patient populations for inclusion in clinical trials studying specific mechanisms of action of novel therapeutics,” Liebler said. “Such segmentation of patients will enhance the probability of success for molecules entering late-stage clinical development.”
Inotiv said it expects to retain all Protypia employees and maintain the operations in Nashville.
Protypia has worked with some major pharma players. In June 2020, for example, researchers at Eli Lilly revealed that the firm had helped with protein level quantitation on a project focused on drugs for non-small cell lung cancer.
M&A strategy
The Protypia deal continues an M&A strategy that saw Inotiv make a number of acquisitions in the early drug development space, including buying drug discovery firm Plato BioPharma for $15 million in October 2021. At the time, Inotiv cited Plato’s in vivo pharmacology research and drug discovery capabilities as the primary motivations for the deal.
Three months earlier, Inotiv had acquired preclinical testing services contractor Gateway Pharmacology Laboratories. The CRO pointed to Gateway’s in vivo capability and integrated laboratory support services, as well as its expertise in cardiovascular and renal pharmacology.