SenzaGen AB, a Swedish company listed on Nasdaq First North that sells non-animal toxicology tests, has agreed to acquire Alcyomics Ltd, a Newcastle, England, company that tests drug candidates for immune-related side effects using human tissue instead of animals. SenzaGen announced the deal on the evening of October 28, 2026.
SenzaGen will pay about £2.12 million (about SEK 28 million, or roughly $2.8 million) in cash for all of Alcyomics' shares. Two further cash payments are possible: up to about £0.83 million (about SEK 11 million) if Alcyomics meets certain milestones in its 2027/28 financial year, and up to £1.05 million (about SEK 14 million) equal to any reduction in Alcyomics' net debt by September 30, 2027. Completion was expected around November 4, 2026.
Dealroom, which reported the deal, put the initial price at $2.82 million. SenzaGen did not say whether Alcyomics' brand will continue, but its chief executive, Anne Dickinson, welcomed the deal as giving the team room to grow in a broader international setting.
What Alcyomics built
Alcyomics was founded in 2007 by Anne Dickinson, a professor at Newcastle University, to commercialise Skimune, a test she developed. According to her university profile, she first used the technology as a predictive test for graft-versus-host disease in transplant patients, then developed it to test drugs for transplant-rejection-type immune responses and for skin sensitivity and allergic reactions.
The patented Skimune platform combines human skin tissue with immune cells to spot immune-related adverse effects before drugs reach clinical trials. SenzaGen said it is used mainly on biological drugs such as monoclonal antibodies, T-cell engagers and bispecific therapies, where complex immune reactions can pose serious safety risks. Its customers include several large multinational drug companies in Europe, the US and Japan.
The company is profitable. In its financial year from March 2025 to February 2026, revenue grew 46% to about £1.49 million (about SEK 19.5 million), with an EBITDA margin of about 24%. SenzaGen did not disclose Alcyomics' headcount, and no venture funding has been reported.
“In SenzaGen, we have found a perfect partner that shares this ambition and can give our team and our technology the conditions to grow further in a broader international context.”
Why SenzaGen is buying
SenzaGen, based in Lund, develops genomic in vitro tests that assess the toxic effects of substances in test tubes rather than on animals, for customers in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and chemical industries. Buying Alcyomics takes it into preclinical safety testing for drug development, a segment it described as strategically important and a significant commercial opportunity.
Chief executive Peter Nählstedt said both companies are built on deep expertise in immunology, creating chances to work together on sales, business development and research. SenzaGen said demand for Alcyomics' testing is driven by two structural trends: drug makers' growing use of animal-free methods and the rising share of biological drugs. It said Alcyomics' data are more relevant to human biology than traditional animal models and can reduce the risk of costly setbacks later in development.
SenzaGen's growth plan to 2030 has three phases: breaking even, accelerating and then scaling. Because Alcyomics is already profitable, SenzaGen said the deal strengthens it in the current break-even phase. In the first half of 2026 the two companies had combined pro forma revenue of about SEK 40 million (about $4.2 million) and positive EBITDA, based on internal accounts.
How the deal is paid for
SenzaGen is paying with existing cash plus SEK 25 million (about $2.6 million) of convertible bonds issued to its main shareholder, Eiffel Investment Group. The bonds carry 5.5% annual interest, mature on October 28, 2031, and convert at SEK 7.23 a share, 160% of SenzaGen's recent average share price. Full conversion would dilute existing shareholders by about 9.6%. SenzaGen's board said a rights issue would have taken longer, carried more market risk and probably needed a steep discount.
Sedermera Corporate Finance was SenzaGen's financial adviser. Vinge and Freeths were legal advisers, and Nordic Issuing acted as issuing agent.
