A Worcester contract researching company has been bought by a California company in a move officials say expands the presence and offerings of both companies.
Blue Sky BioServices is a contract research organization (CRO) located within the Gateway Park building at 50 Prescott Street in Worcester. It was purchased by LakePharma, Inc. of Belmont, Calif. for an undisclosed amount. LakePharma focuses on supporting projects throughout the drug discovery process.
Blue Sky has 30 employees and specializes in research into bacterial and baculovirus systems, complementary molecular biology platforms and assay services. It serves the global biotech, pharma, and academic R&D market. All employees at the location will be retained in a purchase that strengthens both companies and brings the total employee count up to 100, said Mark Schmeizl, vice president of client resources for Blue Sky.
“This was an acquisition to increase our presence on the east coast as well as the west coast. So it is a win-win for both organizations,” he said.
The new company will be known as LakePharma and will be the largest dedicated biologics CRO in the United States, according to a release from the combined company. Blue Sky BioServices is a portfolio company of Ampersand Capital Partners and as part of the transaction, Ampersand made an investment into LakePharma to support growth initiatives.
