Nottingham-based integrated drug discovery partner, Sygnature Discovery has acquired one of North America’s largest discovery Contract Research Organisations, Canada-based NuChem Sciences.
This acquisition cements Sygnature as one of the world’s largest players in integrated drug discovery phase solutions and advances their vision to become the global market leader.
The transaction creates a significant competitive advantage for Sygnature as it expands its global footprint and business operations to leverage discovery expertise in the North American market.
Marc Lebel, Pharm. D., president and chairman at NuChem Sciences, said: “Our company goals and values fit perfectly with those of Sygnature in becoming a global leader in drug discovery services. We are delighted to become an integral part of the Sygnature Group, allowing us to leverage our deep scientific expertise and presence across North America and Europe, to the benefit of customers and employees.”
NuChem Sciences, a discovery CRO in the North American market, employs over 300 staff across centres of excellence in Montreal and Quebec City, Canada, where the company will continue to operate and drive further market expansion across North America.
Founded in 2011, NuChem Sciences delivers expert integrated and standalone discovery solutions across medicinal, synthetic, scale-up, process and computational chemistry, as well as DMPK, in vitrobiology and in vivo pharmacology. Additionally, the company provides protein chemistry services and offers crucial knowledge-based expertise in structural biology at the initial stages of drug discovery to global biotech and pharmaceutical companies.
Following this acquisition, Sygnature Discovery will have more than 1,000 staff across 53 nationalities, including over 900 scientists who work on standalone and integrated drug discovery programmes for pharma, biotech, VCs, and NFPs. Founded in 2004, the company has successfully delivered over 40 novel drug candidates into pre-clinical development and 22 into clinical trials, with its scientists named on over 170 patent applications.
Dr Simon Hirst, CEO at Sygnature Discovery, said: “This acquisition represents a pivotal milestone in the Sygnature growth plan, allowing us to deliver better discovery solutions to customers around the world.
“The addition of NuChem Sciences greatly enhances Sygnature Discovery’s offering, making us a highly differentiated and integrated drug discovery partner with unrivalled scale and range. NuChem is a like-minded business that complements Sygnature’s existing services, towards our joint mission of improving the world’s health.”
In addition, Marc Lebel commented that “this acquisition could not have taken place without the support and partnership of Amorchem, Investissement Québec, Fonds de solidarité FTQ and the Business Development Bank of Canada; I would like to extend my thanks to all involved.”
This is the third in a series of acquisitions over the last sixteen months that have formed part of Sygnature’s global expansion, following the investment by Five Arrows in Summer 2021. Previous acquisitions made were Peak Proteins in April 2022 and SB Drug Discovery in January 2023.
David Jones, corporate finance advisory partner at Deloitte in the Midlands, said: “The strategically important acquisition of NuChem Sciences marks a significant milestone for Sygnature Discovery both locally and globally. The deal will boost Sygnature’s standing on the international stage, facilitating its growth across a global customer base.
“We were delighted to be involved in this transaction, which brings together two major players in the preclinical drug discovery market. Having worked closely with the Sygnature team to fulfil their strategic objectives, the deal signifies an exciting new period of growth for the team as it builds out its service offering.”
