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Moderna to Buy Japanese Firm OriCiro in Its First-Ever Acquisition
In its inaugural acquisition, Moderna will buy the Japanese biotechnology company OriCiro Genomics and obtain its suite of genetic engineering tools.
Moderna Inc and Japan-based OriCiro Genomics K.K. reached an agreement on Wednesday wherein Moderna will acquire OriCiro and its suite of biopharmaceutical applications for $85 million.
OriCiro’s cell-free assembly and amplification process is marketed as a replacement for the conventional E. coli cloning process. The expedited system allows for high-fidelity assembly and circularization of large DNA fragments. Additionally, OriCrio’s process takes only hours, while traditional replication can take several days.
"Moderna has demonstrated remarkable speed and ability to impact lives through their innovative platform and mRNA therapeutics. I am confident that our technology and talent will be a highly strategic fit with Moderna," said Nasir Kato Bashiruddin, Chief Executive Officer of OriCiro, in the press release announcing the acquisition.
OriCiro was founded in 2018, and the company focuses on cell-free synthesis and amplification of plasmid DNAs. Their proprietary technologies will likely advance Moderna’s mRNA clinical portfolio allowing for innovative therapeutics and vaccines.
"With this acquisition, we obtain best-in-class tools for cell-free synthesis and amplification of plasmid DNA, a key building block in mRNA manufacturing," said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. "OriCiro's technology strategically complements our manufacturing expertise and further accelerates our research and development engine. We look forward to welcoming the OriCiro team to Moderna."
The OriCrio acquisition is just the beginning of what may become a trend for cash-flush Moderna. The company generated significant profits from its sale of COVID-19 vaccines in 2022, exceeding $20 billion in revenue that year. The company is expected to use some of those funds to snap up companies that will boost its drug creation process and bring more products to market.
Moderna has concentrated its development pipeline efforts on creating mRNA vaccines that address respiratory viruses and other diseases causing public health crises. The company has more than two dozen vaccines in clinical trials, including immunizations for types of cancer and an HIV vaccine.
In addition to their vaccine products, Moderna is trialing several therapeutics to treat an array of diseases. Using OriCiro’s advanced replication process may improve Moderna’s time-to-market and enable the company to accelerate its production of vaccines and therapeutics.
Recently, Merck and Moderna announced a successful early-stage trial of their joint cancer vaccine effort. Using mRNA technology, patients achieved longer periods of disease-free survival. The trial represents just one of Moderna’s efforts to meld its mRNA technology into a broad swath of vaccination campaigns.
