Asahi Kasei Medical agreed, through its U.S. subsidiary, to acquire Bionova Scientific, a California contract developer and manufacturer that offers process development and GMP production of antibody drugs. Bionova runs as a new bioprocess business unit under its existing CEO. Terms were not disclosed. About Bionova Bionova Scientific began in 2014 as a contract research firm for drug process development and took its current form in 2019 with an investment from Great Point Partners. It is known for complex next-generation antibody drugs, such as antibody-drug conjugates and bispecific antibodies, which are hard to make, and its plant uses single-use bioreactors. Step by step Asahi Kasei Medical is known for its Planova virus-removal filters. It moved into biosafety testing by buying Austria's Virusure in 2019 and US mycoplasma tester Bionique Testing Laboratories in 2021, and Bionova added drug development and manufacturing.
