Repligen to buy Novozymes Biopharma Sweden business for $23 upfront; Biotie pulls out of Newron acquisition

USA-based Repligen (Nasdaq: RGEN) says it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the business of Novozymes Biopharma Sweden AB from Denmark-based parent Novozymes (Nasdaq: NZYM B) in a cash transaction of 17 million euros ($22.7 million) and future potential milestone payments of 4 million euros ($5.6 million).

“This transformative” acquisition will elevate Repligen to a world-leading supplier of products for manufacturing biologic drugs with the potential to yield sustainable growth and profitability in fiscal year 2013, beginning April 1, 2012,” the US firm says. The combined company is expected to generate total revenues of around $50 million in fiscal year 2013.

The acquisition diversifies and expands Repligen’s product offering and customer base while doubling the company’s manufacturing capacity. Novozymes Biopharma AB is a leader in the manufacture and supply of growth factors used in mammalian cell culture and Protein A affinity ligands used in the production of monoclonal antibodies. The products acquired in the Novozymes transaction are expected to generate $16-$17 million in revenue in 2011, and are sold primarily under long-term supply agreements with major life sciences companies including EMD Millipore, Sigma-Aldrich and GE Healthcare.