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Dive Brief:
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Artis BioSolutions emerged from stealth Wednesday, announcing that it has acquired Landmark Bio, an alliance of academic institutions, hospitals and biotech companies founded in 2021 to help turn research ideas into broadly available genetic medicines.
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Landmark will continue to operate as a distinct entity, based in Watertown, Massachusetts. The acquisition by Artis BioSolutions will allow Landmark to scale up operations and “bring breakthrough therapies to more patients” Landmark CEO Ran Zheng said in a statement.
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Artis BioSolutions, backed by the venture capital firm Oak HC/FT, is now well positioned as a contract development and manufacturing organization for advanced therapies, the company said Wednesday. Artis BioSolutions said it can help customers speed up timelines, lower manufacturing costs and improve both product quality and supply chain management.
Dive Insight:
Artis is launching at a critical time for genetic medicine research. Funding for developers of the therapies dropped in 2024 as investors looked for less risky bets. Meanwhile, Trump administration policies have led to mass firings at health agencies and the departure of a key Food and Drug Administration official, Peter Marks, who was a champion of cell and gene therapies.
While genetic therapies hold incredible promise, they are also difficult to develop and produce. After a burst of investment in cell and gene therapy work, the industry in recent years has encountered shortages of the specialized facilities and manufacturing capacity needed to bring potential therapies to market.
Along with larger players like Catalent and Lonza, a group of startups including Landmark stepped into the breach. With founders ranging from Harvard University to Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, Landmark said its mission was to offer a “one-stop solution” for startups, with lab space, delivery tools like viral vectors and consulting for both drug development and regulatory issues.
Together, Artis BioSolutions and Landmark have the “opportunity to transform biomanufacturing at scale,” Oak HC/FT partner Andy Smith said in the press release Wednesday.
Artis BioSolutions is led by CEO Brian Neel and Chief Scientific Officer Mike Houston, both veterans of Maravai Life Sciences.
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