GeneWerk announced a majority investment from Ampersand Capital Partners.

GeneWerk GmbH, a Heidelberg, Germany-based cell and gene therapy testing laboratory focused on providing preclinical and clinical trial patient sample analysis services, announced a majority investment from Ampersand Capital Partners, a private equity firm specializing in growth equity investments in the healthcare sector. 

Ampersand’s growth investment will be used to expand GeneWerk’s capabilities to meet rapidly growing demand for cell and gene therapy testing services.

GeneWerk was founded in 2014 by Prof. Dr. Christof von Kalle, Dr. Manfred Schmidt, and Dr. Annette Deichmann with the participation of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) Heidelberg. The company provides cell and gene therapy sponsors with patient testing services in compliance with guidance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).  The company is recognized as a leading provider of vector integration site analysis (ISA) services, a method that was developed by GeneWerk’s founders and that the FDA and EMA recommend performing after the administration of both integrating and non-integrating cell and gene therapies.