Saudi Arabia’s Dammam Valley to acquire majority stake in German biotech firm Arcensus
Dammam Valley with other investment partners, supported by Ministry of Investment, announced to acquire a majority stake in Arcensus GmbH of Germany.
The takeover initiative comes within the Kingdom's goal of improving the speed in implementing genomic testing globally for the early diagnosis of genetic diseases, mainly cancer and rare genetic disorders.
The financial investment led by Dammam Valley will allow Arcensus to speed up the penetration of the worldwide markets with its innovative solutions. It will be the backbone for developing a comprehensive multi-omic strategy.
CEO of Dammam Valley Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Olayan said, “This is an important step in our global healthcare strategy for Saudi Arabia, as we believe that the early diagnosis and preventive testing based on real-life genomic expertise with Whole Genome Sequencing is a key ingredient to accelerate the development of, and access to, new future treatments. As a leading technology company in genomic testing, Arcensus GmbH, founded by the visionary multi-entrepreneur, Dr. Arndt Rolfs, is best positioned to provide a deep understanding of bioinformatic technologies and data analytics infrastructure needed not only for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia but for medical research and development efforts across the globe. A key principle of this is to preserve Arcensus´ autonomy. We are delighted that the founder of Arcensus, Dr. Arndt Rolfs, will continue to manage operations, sit on the board and remain a significant shareholder.”
Dr. Arndt Rolfs, Arcensus founder and CEO, said, “Dammam Valley will be a tremendous partner for the global expansion to us and shares our vision for building a worldwide healthcare platform in modern preventive medicine as well as early diagnostics of all genetic diseases. This important partnership will allow us to increase the investments in our modern technology and services platform, as well as our knowledge-based data extraction of the genomic data.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Dammam Valley along with other investors will make a double-digit million euro payment on a fully diluted basis. The parties agree Arcensus to continue its current business model, a network of partnerships and overall objectives following the transaction's closing. The integrity of the proprietary patient data will be maintained, as will the dedicated sales, marketing, and life sciences business activities.
Established in 2021, Dammam Valley is a semi-government Investment company, solely owned by Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University. It strives to be a source and destination for biotechnology innovation and healthcare in the Middle East and is the Nation’s premier hub for evaluating and incubating biotech innovations. Aiming to stimulate investment, support projects, and forge quality partnerships in the fields of health and biotechnology, in addition to focusing on numerous other sustainable investments in various fields of interest.
Arcensus, founded by Dr. Arndt Rolfs, a multi-entrepreneur in biotechnology, CEO and founder of several innovative biotech companies, is a digital health and diagnostics company providing comprehensive genomic diagnostic services based on Whole Genome Sequencing. With a cross-functional, international team of geneticists, medical experts and data scientists, Arcensus, one of the world's most innovative genetic biotechnology companies, offers its knowledge and bioinformatic expertise in genomic interpretation together with cutting-edge medical and preventive health applications. The management of Arcensus is convinced that with the worldwide implementation of Whole Genome Sequencing as the first line of genomic testing, the genomic era will start quickly and will conquer the molecular medicine market in a short time.
The financial investment led by Dammam Valley will allow Arcensus to speed up the penetration of the worldwide markets with its innovative solutions. It will be the backbone for developing a comprehensive multi-omic strategy.
CEO of Dammam Valley Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Olayan said, “This is an important step in our global healthcare strategy for Saudi Arabia, as we believe that the early diagnosis and preventive testing based on real-life genomic expertise with Whole Genome Sequencing is a key ingredient to accelerate the development of, and access to, new future treatments. As a leading technology company in genomic testing, Arcensus GmbH, founded by the visionary multi-entrepreneur, Dr. Arndt Rolfs, is best positioned to provide a deep understanding of bioinformatic technologies and data analytics infrastructure needed not only for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia but for medical research and development efforts across the globe. A key principle of this is to preserve Arcensus´ autonomy. We are delighted that the founder of Arcensus, Dr. Arndt Rolfs, will continue to manage operations, sit on the board and remain a significant shareholder.”
Dr. Arndt Rolfs, Arcensus founder and CEO, said, “Dammam Valley will be a tremendous partner for the global expansion to us and shares our vision for building a worldwide healthcare platform in modern preventive medicine as well as early diagnostics of all genetic diseases. This important partnership will allow us to increase the investments in our modern technology and services platform, as well as our knowledge-based data extraction of the genomic data.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Dammam Valley along with other investors will make a double-digit million euro payment on a fully diluted basis. The parties agree Arcensus to continue its current business model, a network of partnerships and overall objectives following the transaction's closing. The integrity of the proprietary patient data will be maintained, as will the dedicated sales, marketing, and life sciences business activities.
Established in 2021, Dammam Valley is a semi-government Investment company, solely owned by Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University. It strives to be a source and destination for biotechnology innovation and healthcare in the Middle East and is the Nation’s premier hub for evaluating and incubating biotech innovations. Aiming to stimulate investment, support projects, and forge quality partnerships in the fields of health and biotechnology, in addition to focusing on numerous other sustainable investments in various fields of interest.
Arcensus, founded by Dr. Arndt Rolfs, a multi-entrepreneur in biotechnology, CEO and founder of several innovative biotech companies, is a digital health and diagnostics company providing comprehensive genomic diagnostic services based on Whole Genome Sequencing. With a cross-functional, international team of geneticists, medical experts and data scientists, Arcensus, one of the world's most innovative genetic biotechnology companies, offers its knowledge and bioinformatic expertise in genomic interpretation together with cutting-edge medical and preventive health applications. The management of Arcensus is convinced that with the worldwide implementation of Whole Genome Sequencing as the first line of genomic testing, the genomic era will start quickly and will conquer the molecular medicine market in a short time.
