Private investor EQT VIII Fund has agreed to take a majority stake in Aldevron, a US-based biologics supplier. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2019, subject to regulatory approvals. The size of the stake and financial terms were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota, Aldevron supplies plasmid DNA for commercial, clinical and research-stage gene therapies as well as proteins, antibodies and mRNA. The company also has operations in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, and Freiburg, Germany. It employs around 400 people worldwide.

Aldevron said EQT’s investment will help advance its R&D and innovation efforts in the rapidly growing field of genetic medicine.

Eric Liu, partner at EQT Partners and investment advisor to EQT VIII, added that the private equity group believes Aldevron is “uniquely positioned” as a critical supplier to the gene therapy market.

As part of its support, EQT will provide funds to add production capacity at Aldevron’s Fargo campus. Aldevron announced this month that it had broken ground on an expansion of the Fargo site. The company plans to add three buildings, the first of which will be an additional – and second – GMP manufacturing facility, which will more than quadruple current capacity. The other buildings include an administration and client experience center and an R&D and training center.

Michael Chambers, co-founder and CEO of Aldevron, commented: “We are growing to meet demands in the industry – demand for high quality biological products, demand for trusted partners to help solve the world’s largest health challenges, and demand for companies that support the evolution the biotech industry is experiencing.”

Aldevron did not say when the buildings will be complete.