Our History

Abzena was established in 2013 when two companies, PolyTherics and Antitope, were combined to create a single leading provider of technologies and services to enable better biopharmaceuticals.

Located in the UK, PolyTherics was founded in 2001, and was viewed as an innovator in the bioconjugate space. The company specialized in proprietary site-specific conjugation technologies for antibody drug conjugate development and solutions for optimization of the therapeutic properties of biopharmaceuticals. They were the creators of Abzena's unique ThioBridge platform, which has been proven to enhance the development of antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) by overcoming challenges and improving stability, potency and efficacy.

Also located in the UK, Antitope, founded in 2004, was considered to be an industry leader in immunogenicity assessment, protein engineering to create humanized antibodies and deimmunized therapeutic proteins and cell line development for manufacture. They were the creators of EpiScreen, a robust ex-vivo immunogenicity assessment platform and Composite Human Antibody and Composite Protein platforms, which reduce immunogenicity risk and confidently move antibodies and complex biologics forward into development.

Together they served a global customer base including the top multinational large pharmaceutical groups to emerging biotechs.

Abzena expanded its footprint into the US with the acquisition of PacificGMP in 2015. This expansion enabled Abzena to expand its services and provide broader support for its customers’ development projects, by offering biopharmaceutical manufacturing services.

Located in San Diego, CA, PacificGMP, was founded in 2005 and was considered to be a pioneer in single-use manufacturing technology, which is increasingly being used to manufacture biopharmaceuticals. The sites services include process and analytical development, non-GMP and cGMP manufacturing, and regulatory support.

Our US footprint and services toolkit grew with the acquisition of The Chemistry Research Solution (TCRS) in 2016. Located in Bristol, PA, TCRS was founded in 2012 with a focus on producing and analyzing antibody drug conjugates (ADCs). This acquisition broadened Abzena's capabilities in the development and GMP manufacture of ADCs, providing customers a fully integrated offering from discovery through development and manufacture under a single organization.

Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe (WCAS), one of the world’s leading private equity investors, purchased Abzena in 2018. At this time the company was comprised of three locations including Cambridge, UK, Bristol PA, USA and San Diego CA, USA.

Since the acquisition, WCAS has significantly invested in late phase and commercial cGMP manufacturing facilities in San Diego, CA and Bristol, PA.