Strong momentum in life sciences and health tech industry: Castrén & Snellman sees a significant uptick in deal-making 

Strong momentum in life sciences and health tech industry: Castrén & Snellman sees a significant uptick in deal-making 

In a constantly changing and challenging environment, the first rate expertise and experience of our team will help propel your life science company to success.

We can provide your company with the specialist knowledge needed to find solutions to key life science industry issues. We are a partner you can rely on in assignments focusing on, for example:

We have solid experience of handling assignments for Finnish and international pharmaceutical companies, health service providers as well as biotech and food industry companies. In international assignments we can provide you with in-depth insight into the Finnish legal environment and practical solutions for business needs.

Our excellence has been noted in ratings by Best Lawyers, Intellectual Asset Management (IAM), Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, Who’s Who Legal and PLC.

Latest references

We advised BYG4Lab, a portfolio company of the European growth buyout investor Keensight Capital, on its acquisition of Finbiosoft Oy, an innovative software company founded in 2011 with a mission to help laboratories reach higher quality and better efficiency. Founded in 1982, BYG4lab is a leading software company specialised in data management solutions for medical laboratories. The company is headquartered in France and employs nearly 110 people, of which approximately 40% are in R&D. Keensight Capital is a European growth buyout investor with deep expertise in technology and healthcare. Keensight Capital partners with the management teams of fast growing and profitable companies providing capital, strategic guidance and operational support.
Case published 14.3.2024
We advised Keensight Capital on the Finnish law aspects of the combination of Biovian and 3P Biopharmaceuticals, two leading biologics contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs) backed by Keensight Capital, to establish 3PBIOVIAN, a new pan-European leader in its field. The combined group will offer unparalleled end-to-end development and manufacturing services for all protein expression systems and viral vectors, both for drug substance and drug product, from preclinical to clinical development and commercial phases. With over 500 professionals, manufacturing sites in Pamplona-Noáin (Spain) and Turku (Finland) and its commercial office in Boston (USA), 3PBIOVIAN will become one of the main independent European bio-CDMOs. We advised Keensight Capital alongside Paul Hastings, Keensight Capital’s lead legal counsel in the transaction, and Strelia and Garrigues, who, respectively, advised Keensight Capital on Luxembourgian and Spanish legal aspects of the combination.
Case published 6.2.2024
We advised Biovian Oy, a Finnish company, in a debt refinancing initiative and securing a new funding package with Eurazeo, a French investment company, to support GeneCity facility expansion. The package will be used to refinance existing debt and to finance investment in GeneCity. The GeneCity facility will house cutting-edge equipment and advanced technologies to support the development, manufacturing, and testing of ATMP (Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products). It will also feature dedicated Class A to D cleanroom areas for bulk drug substances as well as final drug product manufacture. The new viral vector facility building has been started in the autumn of 2023 and the facility is expected to be ready in 2025. The new funding package is an important milestone in Biovian’s growth journey and will support Biovian in continuing its strong organic growth. The GeneCity expansion is a strategic move aimed at meeting the growing demand for high-quality biopharmaceutical manufacturing services and further solidifying Biovian’s position as a trusted partner in the biopharmaceutical industry.
Case published 17.1.2024
We acted as the legal and ESG advisor to Mérieux Equity Partners on the acquisition of a majority stake in Labquality through a leveraged buyout by its buyout fund, Mérieux Participations 4. Existing shareholders of Labquality, including Cor Group and the management, will reinvest a portion of their proceeds into the company in connection with the transaction. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Labquality is a Nordic player specialized in EQA, CRO activities and regulatory affairs, with a strong local presence in Central and Eastern Europe. The company provides a comprehensive array of services for the healthcare, medical technology, and pharmaceutical industries. The company, employing over 120 professionals and supported by a network of more than 150 external experts and consultants across its offices in Finland, Germany, and Poland, serves a diverse clientele of over 8,000 customers, including major pharmaceutical companies in over 60 countries. Mérieux Equity Partners (MxEP) is an AMF-accredited management company dedicated to equity investments in the Healthcare and Nutrition sectors. MxEP actively supports entrepreneurs and companies with differentiated products and services, giving them privileged access to its sector expertise and international network. The transaction will enable Labquality to pursue its buy & build strategy in Europe to accelerate its CRO activities while continuing strong and recurring growth in the EQA segment. Labquality will benefit from MxEP’s sector expertise and financial resources to achieve its ambition of becoming a leading European CRO and EQA platform, with fully integrated regulatory consulting capabilities to serve major customers across Europe.
Case published 4.12.2023