Maravai LifeSciences Acquires MockV Solutions

SAN DIEGO, March 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Maravai LifeSciences, a global provider of life science reagents and services to researchers and biotech partners, announced today that it has acquired MockV Solutions.  MockV plays an important role in helping biopharma customers develop manufacturing processes that are free of viral contamination, leading to the production of safe biotherapeutics. The MockV acquisition, coupled with Maravai's previous acquisition of Cygnus Technologies, expands Maravai's leadership position in bioprocess impurity testing.  Impurity testing is a critical step in the development and manufacture of biotherapeutic products.

Viral contamination is an inherent risk during the manufacture of therapeutic products such as antibodies, vaccines, and plasma derivatives. Whether introduced initially from raw materials or later through specific manufacturing operations, unmitigated viral contamination has led to serious health implications and plant shutdowns.  Global regulatory agencies require sponsoring companies to validate the viral clearance efficacy of their purification process steps prior to clinical trials or regulatory approval. This is generally accomplished with live virus experimental studies.  Because of the challenges and logistics of working with live viruses, viral clearance studies are usually conducted in specialized facilities.  This increases costs and the risk that failed results will require significant process redesign leading to delays in bringing the drug to market. 

MockV Solutions has developed non-infectious mock virus particles that mimic the properties of live infectious viruses used as spiking agents during viral clearance testing. MockV products contain these surrogate particles along with reagents to perform quantitative clearance analysis. Mock virus particles look and behave like viruses, but are non-infectious, allowing drug manufacturers to work with them inexpensively and with minimal risk while developing final manufacturing processes that can easily demonstrate viral clearance to regulators. 

Eric Tardif, president of Maravai, commented, "We're excited to bring MockV Solutions into the Cygnus Technologies organization under the Maravai umbrella.  The acquisition supports our commitment to the bioprocess impurity testing market, which we first entered with the acquisition of Cygnus Technologies, and extends our offerings to viral clearance, further enabling the manufacture of safe biotherapeutics." 

David Cetlin, founder and CEO of MockV Solutions noted, "We are pleased to have found a partner who shares our vision and intends to invest in our technology.  I look forward to joining the Cygnus and Maravai teams and to this next phase in our growth."

About Maravai LifeSciences

Maravai LifeSciences provides reagents and services to life science researchers and biotech partners that enable breakthrough discoveries and improvements in human health. Maravai's businesses focus on DNA and RNA synthesis, bioprocess impurity testing and research immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. Maravai is a portfolio company of GTCR, a leading private equity firm focused on investing in growth companies in healthcare, technology and information and financial services. 

SOURCE Maravai LifeSciences

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