Acquisition · Biotech
Ricoh takes control of Baltimore stem-cell and mRNA firm Elixirgen Scientific
- Buyer
- Ricoh (Tokyo)
- Target
- Elixirgen Scientific, Baltimore, Maryland
- Value
- Status
- Majority stake agreed in May 2022; Ricoh bought a further 44% and made the company wholly owned in March 2025.
- Date
- 2022-05-17
Ricoh agreed to acquire a majority of Elixirgen Scientific, a Baltimore biotech that makes stem-cell differentiation products and offers contract manufacturing of synthetic mRNA. Ricoh had held 34.5% since 2019. Terms were not disclosed.
Why it matters
The office-equipment maker is using the deal to build a drug-discovery support business, pairing eSci's cell data with its own AI and digital tools.
The technology
Elixirgen Scientific's Quick-Tissue technology quickly turns iPS and embryonic stem cells into many types of cells for drug and disease research. In September 2021 it said it became the first company in Asia-Pacific to offer contract development and manufacturing of mRNA drugs, and it set up a Japanese subsidiary that November.
Ricoh's plan
Ricoh planned to bring its automation and production management know-how to scale up the mRNA manufacturing business. It also aimed to use Elixirgen's large store of cell experiment data with AI to predict how patients respond to drugs and how diseases work.
Sources
Kakehashi M&A News home
