GE Healthcare to acquire PAA Laboratories

GE Healthcare today said it has reached an agreement to acquire PAA Laboratories that develops and supplies cell culture media for biomedical research.

"The acquisition of PAA Laboratories will allow GE Healthcare to expand its offering of products and services for cell biology research and for the discovery and manufacture of biopharmaceuticals, including recombinant proteins, antibodies and vaccines. The strong strategic fit between the two businesses, combined with expanded capabilities in product development and marketing, will offer significant long-term customer benefits," GE Healthcare said in a statement issued here.

The firm however did not disclose the financial details of the deal but said it is expected to close the deal by the third quarter of 2011.

 

"The acquisition of PAA Laboratories is a significant step forward for our Life Sciences business and for biopharmaceutical manufacturing globally," GE Healthcare Life Sciences President and Chief Executive Officer Kieran Murphy said in the statement.

PAA Laboratories develops and manufactures cell culture products such as media, sera, growth supplements and reagents for use in biomedical research and in the production of protein-based pharmaceuticals.

"PAA Laboratories' products are complementary to GE Healthcare's established technologies for cell biology research and biopharmaceutical purification.

The expertise of the two companies will enable GE Healthcare to offer a substantially wider range of integrated products and services to the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry," it said.

According to BCC Research, the global demand for media, sera and reagents for cell culture is expected to grow from $2.3 billion in 2009 to $3.9 billion by 2015.

"This acquisition will enable us to offer a much wider and fully integrated service to the rapidly developing biopharma and vaccine industry in India," GE Healthcare Life Sciences India Managing Director Anurag Gupta said in the statement.