Reig Jofre increases its stake in Leanbio to 85%
The Catalan listed company allocates €3.5 million to buy shares to increase its stake from 47% to 85% of the capital
BarcelonaThe Catalan pharmaceutical company Reig Jofre has increased its stake in the biotechnology firm Leanbio from 47% to 85%, after acquiring shares from current shareholders for €3.5 million, as reported Tuesday to the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). The remaining 15% of Leanbio's capital continues to be held by the founding team and specialized shareholders, all committed to boosting the Spanish biotechnology ecosystem, the company stated. This transaction represents a decisive strategic step in the evolution of Reig Jofre's business model, expanding its activity "towards a biopharmaceutical structure capable of encompassing the phases of research, design, process development, industrial production, and scale-up of biotechnological medicines."
The increased stake in Leanbio, founded in 2014 by Dr. Andreu Soldevila and Albert Font, was achieved through the purchase of shares from current shareholders for €3.5 million. This integration is based on an alliance initiated in 2018 with the creation of the joint venture Syne Therapeutics, a 50/50 joint venture between the two parties for the development of biosimilars, and the subsequent acquisition of an additional 10% stake in Leanbio by Reig Jofre.
New plant
Cooperation between the two companies was strengthened in 2024 with an investment of 6.6 million euros to build a new biotech active ingredients plant (drug substanceA GMP-certified facility in Sant Quirze del Vallès (Barcelona), a complex of nearly 4,000 square meters, is equipped to produce recombinant proteins, as well as plasmid DNA and mRNA. It also includes development laboratories, scale-up areas, pilot plants, and quality control facilities. The center expects to begin operations in mid-2026 and employ over one hundred professionals when it reaches full capacity.
