News Article

Global private equity healthcare specialist ARCHIMED has completed the acquisition of a 100 per cent stake in Spain-based radiopharmaceutical specialist Institut de Radiofarmàcia Aplicada de Barcelona, commonly known as IRAB.

This strategic transaction represents the fifth investment from its small-cap vehicle, MED Rise, which successfully closed at its €400m million euro hardcap in April 2024.

The transaction positions IRAB to scale its specialised technical platform within the wider European healthcare ecosystem. Founded in 2016 and based at the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, IRAB specialises in the development, production, and commercialisation of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) radiotracers used for clinical diagnosis, clinical trials, and clinical research across oncology, neurology, and cardiology.

ARCHIMED plans to deploy its operational playbook to expand IRAB’s production capacities, strengthen technical and manufacturing infrastructure, and accelerate next-generation molecular diagnostics.

IRAB will continue to be led by its founder and chief executive officer, Joan Trens, who emphasised that the partnership provides the essential capital and capabilities required to support hospital clients with reliable services. Detailed financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

For healthcare operators and investors, this transaction reflects a broader industry-wide prioritisation of the molecular nuclear medicine market, which is currently undergoing rapid expansion. The diagnostics segment, which historically represented the majority of nuclear medicine value, is increasingly integrating with advanced therapeutics to establish highly precise theranostic pathways.

This technological shift is driving double-digit organic growth across the sector, further supported by rising global cancer incidence and the roll-out of targeted radioligand therapies. Consequently, operators are prioritising both product-specific developer investments and product-agnostic logistics or equipment platforms to capture these strong commercial tailwinds.