GHO Capital, a European specialist investor in healthcare, has announced the acquisition of Caprion Biosciences, a provider of proteomics and immune monitoring services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry.

Caprion is a specialist laboratory services company which provides testing services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for research and development activities. The company provides two types of services:

1. The immune monitoring (ImmuneCarta) platform which measures and monitors immune response parameters in patient samples and is used in clinical trials for the development of drugs that involve the immune system; and
2. The proteomics (ProteoCarta) platform which enables the identification and measurement of proteins for biomarker discovery and validation, and for quality control in the manufacturing processes of biological drugs and compounds.

Headquartered in Montreal, Canada and employing 107 professionals, including 67 with PhD and/or MSc degrees, Caprion provides support to a high quality customer base of more than 50 major pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers. The company’s differentiated technical capabilities and expertise has driven top-line growth of 22% over the past three years.

The immuno-oncology field is one of the fastest growing areas of research and development for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, with an estimated 44% growth in the volume of early-stage immune-oncology clinical trials from 2013 to 2015. Furthermore, the proteomics services market is expected to deliver a 16%-18% CAGR through to 2019 driven by an increased focus on precision medicine and companion diagnostics involving protein biomarker identification.

Mike Mortimer, partner at GHO Capital, said, “We believe that Caprion is a world-class business operating in a highly attractive, rapidly growing segment. As a well-respected service provider to the pharmaceutical industry, the management team has developed a scalable business model capable of delivering significant further growth, making this an exciting investment opportunity for our fund. With favorable market dynamics in immuno-oncology and proteomics, Caprion is well-positioned to expand its capabilities on a global scale.”

Martin LeBlanc, President and CEO of Caprion, said, “We are delighted to enter into this exciting new partnership with GHO Capital. GHO Capital brings a unique combination and depth of relevant industry expertise, network and strategic insights that will undoubtedly help position Caprion to maintain the rapid growth trajectory we have achieved over the past seven years. We look forward to continuing to build on our leading immunology and proteomics services to further broaden our customer base and pursue our expansion both in Europe and internationally.”