Sartorius $90m IntelliCyt acquisition adds cell analysis capabilities
The deal sees Germany’s Sartorius bolster its lab products and services division, adding Albuquerque, New Mexico instrumentation, software and reagent firm IntelliCyt.
“Sartorius is already present in [the bio-analytics] market with its broad lab portfolio for sample preparation,” Sartorius spokesperson Petra Kirchhoff told Biopharma-Reporter.com. “This is a further step that will especially enhance our presence with scientists who work in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries as well as academia.”
The deal includes IntelliCyt’s I Que Screener platform which is based on cytometry, according to Kirchhoff, integrates instruments, software and reagents to enable rapid, high-throughput cell analysis for assessing multiple cellular parameters.
“The I Que Screener also minimises sample size requirements, while making it possible to deliver content-rich results in just minutes. As sample preparation is simple, it is also possible to trace cell reactions right from the very beginning.”
M&A strategy
Sartorius has traditionally been a bioprocessing equipment and solutions firm, and about 74% of its revenues still come from this division, which focuses on single-use products for the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals.
But the firm is also pursuing a diversification programme to help grow the business, which has seen such acquisitions in its Lab Products & Services Division as the contract research organisation (CRO) BioOutsource, which it bought last year adding biopharma testing services including safety monitoring, drug characterisation and comparability testing of biologics and vaccines.
“We are following our Total Solution Provider Strategy for Biopharma already since more than a decade, and have recently addressed the earlier steps of the value chain,” said Kirchhoff, “so process development and the addition of IntelliCyt connects us with our clients even earlier in drug discovery.”
She added: “Complementary additions are possible in both our divisions, Bioprocess Solutions as well as Lab Products &Services.”