GHO Capital realises significant return with sale of FairJourney Biologics
* Under GHO's ownership FairJourney Biologics has become an established leader
in antibody discovery and development, with more than 5x revenue growth
since 2019
* GHO to reinvest in a minority stake to continue to support the outstanding
delivery of FairJourney's founder and management team, and to realise the
further growth potential of the company
London, UK - 1 July 2024: Global Healthcare Opportunities, or GHO Capital
Partners LLP ("GHO"), the European specialist investor in global healthcare, is
delighted to announce the sale of a majority stake in FairJourney Biologics
(FairJourney), a global leader in antibody discovery and development services,
to Partners Group, one of the largest firms in the global private markets
industry, acting on behalf of its clients. FairJourney will be further
capitalised by Partners Group, alongside GHO and FairJourney founder and CEO,
António Parada.
Since its founding in 2012 in Porto, Portugal, by scientists António Parada and
Maria Pajuelo, FairJourney has grown into one of the world's most pre-eminent
antibody companies. Partnering with leading biopharma companies, FairJourney
supports more than 250 clients across the globe. The company has discovered over
1,000 lead antibody candidates on behalf of pharmaceutical groups since
inception, of which 14 disclosed antibody therapies are currently in active
clinical development to treat unmet patient needs across oncology, immunology,
and cardiovascular disease.
GHO partnered with FairJourney in 2020 and has supported the management team to
transform the business, broadening its service offering and geographic footprint
to better serve an international client base. This transformation included
significant investment in a world class R&D facility in Porto, Portugal and the
acquisition of Iontas in 2020, which added patented innovative antibody
discovery technology and further R&D labs in Cambridge, UK. FairJourney's
scientific excellence, relentless customer focus and end-to-end service offering
uniquely position it to accelerate its clients' projects from idea to lead
candidate, ready for regulatory submission and clinical trials.
FairJourney's continued growth is set to be supported by strong market tailwinds
including higher R&D spending by the pharmaceutical industry, increased demand
for efficiencies leading to greater need for outsourcing, the established track
record of antibody-based therapies, and a favourable regulatory landscape.
The Partners at GHO Capital commented: "Realising this significant return
through the sale of FairJourney is a testament to the incredible ability of its
founders and team to build an industry leading antibody discovery and
development company. We are delighted to continue to support Antonio and his
team in this next phase of the company's growth and development and we have
complete trust that the success we have been able to achieve together will
continue in the years to come. We look forward to working with Partners Group to
further broaden FairJourney's innovative offering, whilst maintaining its
leading position in the space."
António Parada, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, FairJourney Biologics,
added: "Since our establishment in 2012, we have worked tirelessly to become the
world's leading antibody partner by providing our biopharma clients with best-
of-class service, cutting-edge science and innovative technology. Our
partnership with the team at GHO Capital, led by Andrea Ponti and Edward de Nor,
has been instrumental in helping us achieve this. They have the specialist
healthcare expertise and network that is invaluable when rapidly scaling a
company like FairJourney and we could not have attained our global success
without them. We are delighted that they remain an investor and we look forward
to working with them and our new majority shareholder Partners Group, who is
well positioned to support us in expanding our technologies, scientific
leadership and service offering at a global scale."
JP Morgan acted as the exclusive sell-side advisor to the company and GHO. Reed
Smith and CTSU acted as legal advisors and Alvarez and Marsal for financial and
tax matters. L.E.K. Consulting acted for the company as commercial advisor,
Deloitte provided tax and structuring advice to GHO and Jamieson Corporate
Finance advised management.
-Ends-
Further information:
GHO Capital Partners LLP
T +44 20 3700 7440
E IR@ghocapital.com
(mailto:IR@ghocapital.com)
For Media Enquiries
ICR Consilium
Amber Fennell, Angela Gray Tel: +44 (0) 7739 658 783
ghocapital@consilium-comms.com
(mailto:ghocapital@consilium-comms.com)
About GHO Capital
Global Healthcare Opportunities, or GHO Capital Partners LLP, is a leading
specialist healthcare investment advisor based in London. We apply global
capabilities and perspectives to unlock high growth healthcare opportunities,
targeting Pan-European and transatlantic internationalisation to build market
leading businesses of strategic global value. Our proven investment track record
reflects the unrivalled depth of our industry expertise and network. We partner
with strong management teams to generate long-term sustainable value, improving
the efficiency of healthcare delivery to enable better, faster, more accessible
healthcare. For further information, please visit www.ghocapital.com.
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