Repligen CEO says Spectrum acquisition fills gap in bioprocessing product line
California-US-headquartered Spectrum manufactures products employed for the filtration, isolation, purification and concentration of monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, recombinant proteins, diagnostic products and cell therapies.
CEO Tony Hunt said the acquisition, which integrates Spectrum’s portfolio of microfiltration and ultrafiltration-focused hollow fibre cartridges, will simplify production of Repligen’s bioprocessing systems.
At present, Repligen purchases hollow fibre filters for its upstream bioprocessing system, XCell ATF (alternating tangential flow), from Spectrum and other firms via original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreements.
“This transaction addresses one of the biggest gaps in our XCell ATF [alternating tangential flow] product line,” he said.
The procurement of these cartridges will improve the Repligen’s filtration business and position in the single-use and continuous manufacturing technologies for bioprocesses market, he added.
“I really believe that Repligen needed to strengthen both its chromatography and filtration portfolio. I think this deal really allows us to do that,” said Hunt.
Portfolio progression
Repligen, which manufactures resins to purify monoclonal antibodies, will merge Spectrum’s varied therapeutic portfolio in order to increase market presence.
“The acquisition diversifies Repligen’s markets beyond monoclonal antibody production into vaccine, recombinant protein and gene therapy production,” the company said.
Repligen’s CEO told analysts he also plans to cross-sell the firms’ portfolios.
“I am very excited by opportunities for us to cross-sell the combined portfolios for expanded commercial organisation,” Hunt said.
While Hunt didn’t provide a timeline on new products, he did say that it would take three to six months to get staff from both firms aligned.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2017.
Spectrum has 220 employees located in manufacturing sites in North America, a sales and distribution centre in the Netherlands, and commercially across North America, Asia and Europe.
