Upstream & Downstream Processing Archives - Page 5 of 38 - BioProcess InternationalBioProcess International

Sartorius buys media firm Xell among ‘lively’ M&A environment

Xell AG is only Sartorius’s second acquisition this year despite CEO Joachim Kreuzburg saying his firm look at numerous &A activities each week. The €50 million ($60 million) deal sees Sartorius add German firm Xell to its subgroup Sartorius Stedim Biotech, extending its media and feed supplement business for cell cultures. Xell also expands Sartorius’ analytical services for characterizing, screening, and quantifying media components, as well as for optimizing media composition. “With this acquisition, we are expanding our current media…

Repligen expanding MA and Ireland sites to support long-term growth

by Dan Stanton

Repligen will lease a plant in Hopkington, Massachusetts and build a facility in Waterford, Ireland as part of capacity growth plans. Repligen announced its second quarter 2021 financials this week, reporting sales of $163 million, up 86% year-on-year. Like its bioprocess peers, record revenue – along with significant order intake – relate to a mix of a robust industry sector and the high demand for COVID-19 related vaccine and therapy consumables and services. Also like its bioprocess vendor peers, Repligen…

Sartorius eyes single-use opportunities in Alzheimer’s and China

by Dan Stanton

Sartorius says it is witnessing substantial opportunities for its single-use portfolio in new indications and markets. Sartorius continued to see double-digit growth in both sales revenue and order intake for the first half of 2021 due to “unabated high demand for innovative technologies used in the development and production of biopharmaceuticals.” With group sales up 54% to €1.63 billion ($2 billion), CEO Joachim Kreuzburg cited both COVID-19 related revenue, from vaccine and testing manufacturers, and non-pandemic demand for bioprocess equipment…

PerkinElmer continues M&A path with $5.25bn BioLegend deal

by Dan Stanton

PerkinElmer is set to add antibody and reagent supplier BioLegend in a deal that analysts say could transform its Discovery and Analytical Solutions (DAS) business into a high growth segment. The acquisition announced yesterday and expected to close by the end of the year will see life sciences giant PerkinElmer pay $5.25 billion – including $2.2 billion in stock consideration – for private antibody and reagent developer BioLegend. The proposed deal xpands PerkinElmer into the “fast growing, high margin, antibody…

Poseida joins Cellares’ early-access cell therapy tech program

by Dan Stanton

Cellares Corporation has added a third firm to its early-stage partnership program, giving Poseida Therapeutics access to its closed and automated cell therapy manufacturing platform. Californian firm Cellares is looking to overcome limitations in current advanced therapy manufacturing through the development of its manufacturing platform, the Cell Shuttle. The Cell Shuttle is a modular and automated solution comprising hardware, software, robotics and consumables and according to the firm is capable of producing 10 patient doses simultaneously. Since 2020, the firm…

Chinese CDMOs eye advanced therapies and global markets

by Dan Stanton

Univercells Technologies says traditional small molecule Chinese CDMOs are rapidly expanding into the cell and gene therapy space as it partners with viral vector producer VectorBuilder. The partnership will see Univercells Technologies – a bioprocess technology firm under KKR’s Gamma Biosciences umbrella – work with VectorBuilder’s manufacturing center in Guangzhou, China to develop and optimize platform processes for the production of custom viral vectors for both cell and gene therapies and vaccine applications. “Through this partnership, both parties will leverage…

Thermo Fisher opens Korean bioprocess center

by Dan Stanton

The Bioprocess Design Center (BDC) in Incheon, Korea will offer support to the region’s continually growing biomanufacturing industry, says Thermo Fisher. The Songdo, Incheon BDC opened its doors earlier this month with the aim “to help enhance the competitiveness of the Korean bio industry,” Scott Song, director of BioProduction and Laboratory Chemical at Thermo Fisher Scientific, said during a promotional video announcing the opening of the site. “The BDC will play a pivotal role in realizing Thermo Fisher Scientific’s vision…

Exothera selects Pall for suspension-based manufacturing contract

by BPI Staff

Pall will equip Exothera’s expanded facilities in Belgium with a suspension-based manufacturing platform of up to 2,000 L to support the CDMO’s viral vector ambitions. Contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) Exothera was launched in March 2020 by Belgium-based bioprocess tech firm Univercells, to offer cell and gene therapy developers process development and viral vector manufacturing. The firm is expanding its two facilities in Jumet, about 25 km south of Brussels, and has selected bioprocess vendor Pall Corporation to equip…

Sartorius bolsters CGT portfolio with $118m stake in CellGenix

by Millie Nelson

Sartorius has acquired a majority stake in CellGenix for $118 million, expanding its cell and gene therapy portfolio. Sartorius has acquired 51% of reagent manufacturing firm CellGenix for around $118 million in cash with plans to buy the remaining shares in 2023 and 2026. The firm anticipates that the acquisition will expand its cell and gene therapy portfolio through the addition of cytokines and media. “CellGenix has an excellent reputation on the market and brings in high technological expertise and…

Cytiva doubles liquid cell culture media capacity with Intermountain bolt-on

by Dan Stanton

The latest acquisition by Cytiva sees it add Intermountain Life Sciences, gaining a buffer and cell culture media manufacturing site in Utah. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but Danaher Corporation subsidiary Cytiva has added a 25,000+ square-foot facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. The site can produce 60,000 L/day of Water for Injection (WFI) and formulation lot sizes to 14,000 L, and will significantly expand Cytiva’s bioprocessing offering, said Olivier Loeillot, VP of Cytiva. “This acquisition is…