Japanese technology giant buys OncoImmunity AS
Radforsk’s portfolio company OncoImmunity AS was on July 29th sold to the Japanese technology giant NEC Corporation (NEC). OncoImmunity AS will become a subsidiary of NEC and will now operate under the name NEC OncoImmunity AS.
‘This is truly a great day for Radforsk as an early-phase investor. We have worked with OncoImmunity AS since 2015. We were behind the first share issue in 2016, and as its biggest owner we have been deeply involved in the company’s development,’ says Anders Tuv. Mr Tuv is Investment Director of Radforsk and has been executive chair of OncoImmunity AS until today.
Mr Tuv has been responsible for managing the sales process in relation to the Japanese group NEC Corporation on behalf of the shareholders. The shareholders are happy with the transaction and the value creation that was realised through it.
NEC is a global leader in the field of IT integration and network technologies, and the group employs more than 110,000 people. In May this year, the company launched its strategy for drug development based on artificial intelligence (AI). NEC writes in a press release that the acquisition of the Norwegian company OncoImmunity AS will strengthen NEC’s individualised immunotherapy programme.
‘It is of course a challenge to sell a company to such a large and professional system as NEC. They are very thorough in their initial examinations, set strict quality requirements for the companies they acquire and conduct the acquisition process in a highly professional manner. Radforsk maintains an uncompromising focus on investing in quality and professionalism throughout the companies we invest in, both during their development phase and in connection with subsequent transactions. I believe this to be crucial to succeeding in bringing about successful transactions with the biggest and most sophisticated industry players on behalf of the shareholders,’ says Mr Tuv.
Important recognition of the company and the Norwegian cancer research community
OncoImmunity AS has developed a software capable of selecting patient-specific targets for personalised immunotherapies and improving the selection of patients for clinical trials. The company provides this product as a service to global pharmaceutical companies as well as biotech companies, and stated in connection with the acquisition that this business model will be continued.
‘It is a huge recognition that such a global player as NEC sees the value of the product and expertise that have been developed in OncoImmunity AS and buys the company to strengthen their own investments in and development of AI-driven cancer treatment. It is also a recognition of what Norway is achieving in the field of cancer research, and it shows that Radforsk has what it takes to develop early-phase companies into significant global positions within the digital/AI-driven part of the industry. We believe that NEC will be a good owner going forward, and we wish the enterprise the very best in its future development,’ says Mr Tuv.
NEC OncoImmunity AS is based in Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park and is part of the Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator environment.
For more information, see:
NEC Corporation
NEC OncoImmunity AS:
