German drug discovery and development company Evotec has signed an agreement to buy Just Biotherapeutics, a US biologics company.

Founded in 2014, Just Biotherapeutics is backed by investors that include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and US drugmaker Merck. It employs about 90 people, mostly scientists, working out of a development and manufacturing facility in Seattle, Washington.

Evotec is paying a total consideration of $90 million including potential earn outs in the next three years. The Hamburg-based group said the acquisition boosts its offering to include biologics in therapeutic areas such as oncology, central nervous system, pain, inflammation, metabolic and infectious diseases. The transaction is expected to complete by end June 2019.

Commenting on the acquisition, Evotec’s CEO Werner Lanthaler said: “Broadening our platform into biologics has always been key to our strategy.  With this acquisition, we finally found the perfect match to complement our leadership in small molecules.”

Just Bio’s CEO James Thomas added that the combination “creates a technological powerhouse” that will fuel its long-term mission to make important biologics accessible to patients worldwide.

Thomas will lead US operations in his new role as Evotec’s executive vice president and global head of biotherapeutics.