GE Healthcare ($GE) is snatching up Xcellerex for an undisclosed price, another step in the company's plans to boost its position in biomanufacturing.
Xcellerex, based in Marlborough, MA, isn't that big--only 135 employees. But as in-Pharmatechnologist.com reports, the deal gives the U.K.-based division of GE a nimble contract manufacturer with a variety of services and products including production bioreactors and the FlexFactory modular production line system.
With the planned acquisition, GE Healthcare also gets to expand biomanufacturing services for things like recombinant proteins, antibodies and vaccines, the company said, and to complement cell culturing products and services.
Why Xcellerex? GE Healthcare's Catarina Flyborg told in-Pharmatechnologist.com that her company is trying to give clients a bigger range of manufacturing services that cover more of the production cycle.
"Customers want more than just buying individual components," said Flyborg, the company's bioprocess product marketing leader. "They want to work with … a company that can help optimize every stage of their manufacturing process--both upstream and downstream."
GE expects to close its Xcellerex purchase by the end of the second quarter, according to the in-Pharmatechnologist.com piece. An interesting note: The company also plans to keep Xcellerex right where it is and potentially expand its operations.
- here's the in-Pharmatechnologist.com story
- read MassHighTech's take
- check out the release