Element Materials Technology completed its sixth life sciences-focused acquisition of 2021, with the formal completion of the acquisition of JMI Laboratories. Element has now built out its expertise and capability for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical customers, expanding to a team of more than 1,000 experts in 23 facilities across North America and Europe.

This significant step change in pharmaceutical and medical testing capabilities from Element forms part of its broader strategic shift to increase its global presence in Life Sciences and Connected Technologies.

“Our expansion into life sciences and connected technologies over the last two years has seen us gain a leadership position in these strategically important end-markets,” said Jo Wetz, CEO, Element. “As we celebrate 10 years of being a standalone Element business, we see more and more opportunities to work closely with our customers throughout their product and testing lifecycles.”

Cherie Gudz, vice president, Life Sciences Americas, said, “In a world still dealing with a pandemic, the life sciences sector has never been more vital. The six acquisitions this past year alone cements Element’s commitment to continue to build a scale business in this vital sector, which now forms our largest global end-market. We are thrilled to have JMI’s team and expertise join the Element family.”

Based in North Liberty, Iowa, JMI is a market leader in antimicrobial resistance monitoring studies utilized for U.S. FDA regulatory and new drug application submissions, through their proprietary SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program. It offers microbiology and molecular testing services to assist in the development of new antimicrobials and clinical trial support. The company is CLIA accredited and able to test under GLP conditions. The business is notable for its team of highly scientific and well-published industry recognized experts in the field, including 10 MD/PhDs with extensive knowledge of microbiology and antimicrobials, and can consult on a broad range of scientific topics covering epidemiology, mechanisms of resistance in bacterial and fungal organisms, microbiology diagnostics and susceptibility testing methods.

The JMI acquisition follows on from Element’s recently announced acquisitions which include ALG, Avomeen, Arch Sciences, Impact Analytical, Orthokinetic, Nanosyn, complementing Element’s existing expertise and expanding its customer offering.