Mar 4 2010
Repligen Corporation
(Nasdaq: RGEN) announced today that it has acquired the assets of BioFlash
Partners, LLC, (BioFlash) including a technology platform for the production
of pre-packed, "plug and play" chromatography columns. This patented
technology enables economical production of chromatography columns in a format
that is ready for use in the production of a broad range of biopharmaceuticals
including monoclonal antibodies, vaccines and recombinant proteins. The terms
of the acquisition include an upfront payment of $1.8 million, a contingent
milestone and royalties based on product sales. A product offering based on
this technology is being launched this week at the IBC Biopharmaceutical
Development and Production conference under the brand name Opus(TM). The
global market for chromatography media used in the production of
biopharmaceuticals is estimated to be approximately $500 million.
"We are very pleased to have acquired the BioFlash platform, a technology
which will enable us to meet the growing market need for flexible, pre-packed
chromatography products," stated Walter C. Herlihy, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Repligen Corporation. "The acquisition and launch of the
Opus(TM) products reflects Repligen's ongoing commitment to leveraging our
core competency in bioprocessing into a broader purification product offering
to the biopharmaceutical industry."
The Opus(TM) products are offered in a range of column diameters and bed
heights and can be pre-packed with commercially available chromatography
resins including immobilized Protein A. "Plug and play" chromatography
columns have the potential to improve the speed of process development and
reduce the cost of biopharmaceutical manufacturing by decreasing the time
associated with set-up, cleaning and validation of traditional manufacturing
technologies.
SOURCE Repligen Corporation