OrganaBio Acquires Excellos, Forging a Bicoastal Cell Therapy Powerhouse

MIAMI, FL – May 13, 2026 – In a significant strategic move aimed at reinforcing the fragile cell therapy supply chain, Miami-based OrganaBio, LLC has acquired the operating assets of San Diego’s Excellos Inc. The deal creates a bicoastal contract development and manufacturing organization (CTDMO) designed to offer comprehensive, end-to-end services under a single, unified quality system.

Excellos, a 2021 spinout from the San Diego Blood Bank, will now operate as a subsidiary named Excellos Labs, LLC, securing a powerful West Coast manufacturing hub for OrganaBio. The acquisition combines OrganaBio's deep expertise in sourcing critical starting materials with Excellos's advanced manufacturing capabilities, positioning the new entity to tackle some of the most pressing challenges in the rapidly expanding cell and gene therapy sector.

A Strategic Consolidation in a High-Stakes Market

The cell and gene therapy market, while burgeoning with therapeutic promise, is notoriously constrained by manufacturing and supply chain bottlenecks. Developers frequently face risks associated with single-source dependencies for critical services like PBMC isolation and cryopreservation, while using multiple vendors can introduce quality inconsistencies. This acquisition is a direct response to that industry-wide vulnerability.

This consolidation reflects a broader trend in the biopharmaceutical landscape, where scale and specialized capabilities are becoming paramount. While financial terms were not disclosed, the deal is set against a backdrop of high-value M&A activity, including Novo Holdings' recent acquisition of industry giant Catalent and Pfizer's purchase of Seagen. OrganaBio's move, though smaller in scale, is strategically significant within the specialized CTDMO space. Excellos itself was backed by notable growth funding, including a $15 million investment from Telegraph Hill Partners in 2022, underscoring its value and potential in the market.

By creating a bicoastal presence, OrganaBio now competes more directly with larger, established players like Lonza and WuXi AppTec. The key differentiator, the company asserts, is its vertically integrated model and singular quality framework spanning both coasts, a feature designed to offer the geographic redundancy clients need without the quality control headaches of managing multiple partners.

Building a Bicoastal Manufacturing Powerhouse

The combined platform creates a formidable service offering that leverages the distinct strengths of each organization. OrganaBio’s Miami headquarters anchors its East Coast operations with a robust infrastructure that includes proprietary supply chains for ethically sourced adult leukapheresis and birth tissues, cGMP cleanrooms, and extensive experience in process development and analytical testing.

On the West Coast, the acquisition adds Excellos’s purpose-built San Diego facility, a critical asset featuring five ISO 7 cGMP cleanroom suites. This site is equipped for complex manufacturing processes, including autologous and allogeneic cell therapy production, cell isolation, expansion, and final fill/finish services. This complements OrganaBio's existing cell processing labs in San Francisco and Irvine, solidifying its presence in California's dense biotech ecosystem.

“Cell therapy developers and the patients waiting on their programs need a manufacturing partner that can match the pace and quality of their work,” said Justin Irizarry, CEO of OrganaBio, in a statement. “Combining OrganaBio’s and Excellos’ infrastructure and teams lets us do that more reliably than either company could alone.”

Streamlining the Path from Lab to Patient

For the biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies developing these next-generation medicines, the practical implications are substantial. The integrated platform promises to shorten the arduous path from a laboratory concept to a patient-ready therapy. By offering a single point of contact for services ranging from raw material sourcing to cGMP manufacturing and cryopreservation, OrganaBio aims to reduce administrative burdens and streamline technology transfer between development phases.

This unified approach is particularly critical for the company's customer base, which includes many of the top 20 global pharmaceutical firms and numerous public and private biotech developers. These clients are primarily focused on developing treatments for cancer and autoimmune disorders—areas where cell therapies like CAR-T have shown revolutionary potential. Excellos had already established its credentials in this high-stakes arena, securing a significant manufacturing contract with Galapagos for a CAR-T clinical study in the U.S. before the acquisition.

The ability to operate under a single quality framework across geographically distinct sites is a powerful selling point. It provides not only a disaster-recovery and capacity-management solution but also ensures that a process developed in Miami can be executed with identical quality standards in San Diego, a crucial factor for regulatory approval and commercial scale-up.

The Integration Imperative: Merging Systems and Cultures

While the strategic rationale is clear, the success of the acquisition now hinges on execution. OrganaBio faces the complex task of integrating two specialized organizations, a process the company projects will take the next 12 months. A key focus will be harmonizing quality management systems, IT platforms, and standard operating procedures to realize the vision of a single, seamless framework.

Recognizing the value of human capital and client relationships, OrganaBio has retained the core Excellos team to ensure operational continuity. This move is critical for maintaining momentum on existing customer programs and preserving the institutional knowledge within the San Diego facility.

“This acquisition is the best of both worlds, ensuring continuity for Excellos' customers as we move into our next phase while adding critical redundancy, expanded geographical reach, and access to additional services and material including cord blood,” commented Tom VanCott, former CEO of Excellos. The challenge ahead lies in merging distinct corporate cultures and technical platforms without disrupting the high-touch, high-stakes service that cell therapy developers demand. The industry will be watching closely to see if this bicoastal powerhouse can deliver on its ambitious promise to build a more resilient foundation for the future of medicine.