Partners Group to acquire majority stake in FairJourney Biologics, a leading antibody discovery Contract Research Organization

• FairJourney is a partner to pharmaceutical and biotech companies for the discovery, production, and characterization of antibody-based therapies
• FairJourney is set to benefit from tailwinds in the antibody discovery market, including higher pharmaceutical R&D spending and increased outsourcing
• Partners Group's investment, alongside a minority reinvestment from GHO Capital, will support FairJourney in accelerating growth

Partners Group, one of the largest firms in the global private markets industry, has agreed, on behalf of its clients, to acquire a majority stake in FairJourney Biologics ("FairJourney" or "the Company"), a leading antibody discovery Contract Research Organization ("CRO"), from GHO Capital Partners ("GHO Capital").

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Porto, Portugal, FairJourney is a CRO supporting pharmaceutical and biotech companies working at the cutting edge of innovation to develop the next generation of antibody-based therapies. The Company provides services for the discovery, engineering, production, and characterization of antibodies. FairJourney has worked with over 250 clients across the globe to develop more than 4,000 unique screening libraries for identifying antibodies. The Company's partnerships have yielded 14 therapies that are currently in active clinical development to treat unmet patient needs across oncology, immunology, and cardiovascular disease. FairJourney has demonstrated market leading success rates and outcomes driven by the quality of its people and advanced technologies, supported by state-of-the-art operations in Porto and Cambridge, UK. 

FairJourney is set to benefit from structural tailwinds driving growth in the market for antibody discovery. This includes higher R&D spending by the pharmaceutical industry, increased outsourcing to specialized innovation partners, the established track record of antibody-based therapies, and a favorable regulatory landscape.

Partners Group will work with founder António Parada, who will remain a significant shareholder, and his management team on a value creation plan for FairJourney that will expand its technology and capabilities through organic and inorganic investment to unlock faster, more effective drug development for its partners. The transaction will also see a meaningful reinvestment from GHO Capital.

Pascal Noth, Head of Private Equity Health & Life Europe, Partners Group, says: "FairJourney is a high-quality leader in antibody development. We look forward to investing into further broadening its capabilities in pre-clinical R&D and in silico design and partnering with young teams around the world that are pushing the edge of scientific technologies, as the team in Porto and Cambridge have done successfully in the past. We also look forward to partnering with the FairJourney management team as well as existing investor GHO Capital, a specialist investor in global healthcare with partners who share our strategy of supporting companies that drive the development of innovative medicines to transform patient lives."

António Parada, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, FairJourney Biologics, comments: "We have sought to build end-to-end capabilities that drive differentiated results for our partners. We look forward to working with our new majority shareholder Partners Group, which is well positioned to expand our technologies and offering at a global scale, and GHO Capital."

Jean Ghabache, Member of Management, Private Equity Health & Life, Partners Group, adds: "FairJourney serves at the intersection of several highly thematic growth trends in pharmaceutical R&D. The Company has built a strong operational engine underpinned by leading technology and excellence in project delivery. We see FairJourney as a platform to lead innovation in next-generation biologics medicines."

Partners Group has USD 76 billion in private equity assets under management. The firm's Private Equity Health & Life vertical has over 40 professionals globally that track different sectors for years through deep thematic research. The vertical has made over 30 direct investments, including PCI Pharma Services, a provider of pharmaceutical supply chain solutions, and Pharmathen, a developer and manufacturer of drug delivery technologies.

Partners Group was advised by Ropes & Gray (legal), PwC (financial and tax), and Larka (commercial) on the transaction.