Pyrosequencing has finalised buying of Biotage

Swedish company Pyrosequencing today completed its acquisition of US company Biotage. The proposal​ for the company takeover was agreed on 4 October, and a cash payment of SK 235M ($35m) has landed Pyrosequencing with 100 per cent of the shares in Biotage.

The combined purchases of Biotage​ and Personal Chemistry, which was acquired earlier in the year, will now form a new business area at the Swedish company called Discovery Chemistry.

David Patteson, who until now was the president of Biotage, will head the new business area in an attempt to accelerate the drug discovery and development processing and increase the knowledge of the importance of the genetic make-up by conducting medicinal chemistry research and applied genetic analysis, says the company.

Jeff Bork, Pyrosequencing​'s CEO, believes that, "through the acquisition of Biotage, the company has strengthened its product offering and become one of the leading suppliers of systems within medicinal chemistry research".​

Biotage specialises in small molecule drug discovery purification, separation systems and consumables for the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and chemical industries.

Personal Chemistry​ said that its previous merger with Personal Chemistry, coupled with today's acquisition, has given it the opportunity to strengthen its customer base for commercial and academic partners. Its medical chemistry product line will be reinforced, while the purification and separation systems will represent a new segment for the firm, according to the company.

The company now employs approximately 275 staff and the merger with Biotage, according to the company, will help it to gain a stronger foothold in the US market.

"The acquisition also gives us the essential critical mass for this business area to reach profitability,"​ Bork added.