- MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Merger planned between Bio-Rad and Qiagen
California-based diagnostics company Bio-Rad Laboratories is in talks to merge with Dutch company Qiagen NV, the Wall Street Journal reported.US-listed shares of Qiagen rose 8%, while Bio-Rad fell nearly 10%, after the report.According to the report, a deal between the two companies could be worth more than $10bn, making it one of the biggest deals in the healthcare testing area after Illumina Inc took over cancer-testing firm Grail for $8bn.Bio-Rad, which manufactures and supplies products such as laboratory equipment, instruments and diagnostics, has a market cap of $12.85bn.Qiagen provides over 500,000 customers with tech that provides molecular diagnostics of DNA, RNA, blood proteins and other materials.However, a decision is not expected for weeks, with talks being put on hold.Back in 2020, Thermo Fisher offered €11.3bn to buy Qiagen, but plans fell through due to Qiagen shareholders rejecting the offer following a hedge fund’s campaign.Thermo Fisher then went on to acquire PPD for $17.4bn.Other notable pharma acquisitions this year include Stryker’s $3bn purchase of Vocera Communications, ResMed’s $1bn (approx) buyout of MediFox Dan, and Becton Dickinson’s $1.53bn purchase of Parata Systems. - MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Aptar Pharma completes first phase of global expansion
Aptar Pharma has announced that it has successfully completed the first phase of an expansion programme, costing around $180m. The global expansion aims to fulfil growing customer capacity needs for injection system solutions. It began in 2020 and intends to ultimately enable Aptar Pharma to produce over 10 billion injectable component units each year once it is completed.Injectables make up around 50% of the pharmaceutical drug development pipeline, with a 40% market share, and between 2016 and 2020 the sales growth of injectables was over 10% compound annual growth rate. This is largely driven by biologics and the ever-growing demand for high value solutions, which Aptar Pharma aims to develop.Gael Touya, President of Aptar Pharma, said, “Our planned expansion programme proved timely and was expedited by the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. The investments we’re making to expand manufacturing capacity and in new, digitalised processes will benefit our customers well into the future.”The expansion includes facilities and investments in France and the US, with a factory in Granville, France, expected to be open and operational by 2024.Gabriel Zenker, President of Aptar Pharma Injectables, commented: “With this programme, we’re transforming our organisation to offer pharma companies of all sizes enhanced ways to fasttrack and de-risk their product development. In doing so, we’re fulfilling our commitment to making Aptar Pharma a first-choice, longterm partner for those seeking sustainable success for their drug development pipelines as part of our mission to shape the future of injectables together with our customers.”