Pyrosequencing buys Biotage in US
prification and separation specialist Biotage, a subsidiary of Dyax
of the USA, for $35 million.
Sweden's Pyrosequencing has entered into an agreement to buy Biotage, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dyax of the USA, for approximately $35 million in cash.
The Swedish company plans to take over mortgage on Biotage's newly built premises in Virginia, which will reduce the purchase price to around $30 million.
The acquisition of Biotage, which specialises in small-molecule drug discovery purification, separation systems and consumables for the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and specialty chemical industry, is a key part of Pyrosequencing's restructuring, which was started at the beginning of the autumn with the acquisition of Personal Chemistry.
Through the acquisition, Pyrosequencing's medicinal chemistry product range will be strengthened, while the purification and separation systems represent a new segment for the firm. Biotage products include FLASH prepacked chromatography cartridges, the Quad parallel purification system and the Horizon high-performance flash chromatography range.
Just as importantly, the Swedish company gains a stronger foothold in the US market, which is its largest single market. "Increased turnover and substantial operational synergies enhance the possibility for Pyrosequencing to reach profitability faster," said the firm's CEO, Jeff Bork.
"We estimate the annual cost synergies to amount to approximately $4 million" (€3.4m), he added.
Biotage reported net sales of $23.2 million in 2002, while pro forma sales at Pyrosequencing (incorporating Personal Chemistry) were SK 202 million (€22.6m).
Pyrosequencing announced yesterday that two independent major pharmaceutical companies have each placed oneorder for its microwave scale-up technology. The total value of the orders is over SK 5 million.
