Funds will boost product development roadmap of new manufacturer in secure Rapid Transfer Systems for biopharmaceutical industry
Tours, France, June 29, 2020 – ABC Transfer, an industrial designer and manufacturer of secure Rapid Transfer Systems (RTS) for the biopharmaceutical industry, today announces it has raised €3 million ($3.2M) in a series A financing round. Go Capital, an investment fund management company and representative of the Loire Valley Invest Fund, led the round; with Bpifrance, the French national bank, and the regional government of Centre-Val de Loire contributing grants and loans.
The success of this first tranche of funding reflects investor confidence in ABC Transfer’s business model and leadership team, as well as strong interest in the market opportunities that its aseptic transfer systems will be addressing. Growth of the pharmaceutical industry and the rise in research and development are likely to drive the demand for aseptic filling, thus boosting the global aseptic transfer system market[1]. The drug manufacturing shift to smaller and more flexible production lines is expected to impact growth for these systems.
ABC Transfer will use the funds to accelerate the development of its ABC Transfer® system, that improves 50 features, launch in Q4/2020 a new brand of Rapid Transfer Ports (RTP), especially designed for the biopharmaceutical industry, and gear up production. It will also strengthen its R&D activities, maintaining a budget of at least 15% of its turn-over over the long term.
“ABC Transfer is thrilled to have secured this investment. We would like to thank Go Capital, Bpifrance, the Centre-Val de Loire region and the Metropole de Tours for their support, confidence in our leadership and long-term commitment to our project,” said Thierry Girard, CEO of ABC Transfer. “Achieving this strong financial backing means that we will be able to roll out a complete range of Rapid Transfer System solutions, eagerly awaited by customers, and position our products as true innovations within biopharmaceuticals. The benefits of our high-performance and ergonomic designs include ultra-cleanliness, GMP compliance, safety and security. We look forward to raising awareness with customers of these and a host of revolutionary RTS system features.”
The safe manufacture of pharmaceutical drugs requires perfectly sterile and particle-free environments. An RTP, which consists of special double containment doors that are integrated into an isolator, is a system that allows the safe transfer of substances used in drug development, such as Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) or vaccines.
ABC Transfer collaborated with a network of nine GMP industrial partners on resolving 50 shortcomings within its design that customers in production and maintenance identified in a feasibility study as deficient in currently available RTP and RTS solutions. Designed from scratch and protected by 12 patents, the ABC Transfer system is the very first of its kind to satisfy all the demands in RTS for biopharmaceutical manufacturing.
‘Go Capital is proud to accompany ABC Transfer’s management team on this project. It is set to become one of the major manufacturers of equipment and consumables for aseptic transfer chains, thanks to its significant breakthrough in innovation and large portfolio of patents,” said Herve Bachelot-Lallier, investment director of Go Capital. “The rich experience of the team, the dynamics of the sector and the need for quality in the pharmaceutical industry are assets favorable to ABC Transfer’s success.’’
ABC Transfer was co-founded in June 2019 by Thierry Girard, who is also its CFO and CCO, and Jean-Luc Schneider, its COO and CTO. They have decades of technical and executive management experience in the life sciences, specifically in RTS solutions.
Customers are currently sampling products. ABC Transfer plans to launch its first product in the fall.
[1] https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/aseptic-transfer-system-market.html