BioMerieux has acquired PML Microbiologicals Inc., a provider of culture media and microbiological products in North America, for nearly $30 million. PML has manufacturing and marketing teams based in Portland, OR and Toronto, Canada.

The acquisition will enable bioMerieux to become a leading provider in the U.S. of microbiology testing solutions for pharmaceutical companies, according to a company statement. In addition, bioMerieux will enter the North American clinical prepared culture media (PPM) market, becoming the top PPM provider for clinical applications in Canada.

Founded in 1969, PML has 205 employees with 2007 sales of $24 million. BioMerieux purchased all of PML’s shares from the privately held Pelican Life Sciences Group for $29.6 million. PML has an range of products for use in the clinical and pharmaceutical industries, holding proprietary technologies for innovative culture media. PML specializes in reagents, including prepared culture media for sterility testing and environmental monitoring, as well as control organisms, which are complementary to bioMerieux’s offering.

“This new acquisition, our sixth in two years, reinforces the North American market position of bioMerieux’s core business, microbiology,” declared Stephane Bancel, bioMerieux’s chief executive officer. “In the current challenging economic context, we are pleased to add another reagent-only business to our portfolio that will boost bioMerieux’s recurring sales.”

“The PML acquisition brings to our customers in the pharmaceutical industry an enhanced range of high performance, innovative solutions for the control of their manufacturing environment and products,” added Alexandre Merieux, corporate vice president, Industrial Microbiology.