Sartorius has entered into an agreement through its subgroup Sartorius Stedim Biotech to acquire the chromatography process equipment division of Novasep. Novasep’s division expects to generate sales of approximately €37 million in 2020 with double-digit profit margins. The company employs approximately 100 people, with the majority working at its Pompey site in northern France, as well as the U.S., China and India. Financial details were not disclosed, pending the necessary regulatory approvals.

Novasep’s chromatography unit comprises resin-based batch and intensified chromatography systems, and primarily focuses on high-pressure, multi-use applications for smaller molecules, such as oligonucleotides, peptides and insulin. Since 2018, the companies have been collaborating in the joint development of an optimized system for a membrane-based, low-pressure chromatography that processes larger molecules more productively and that is expected to launch soon.

“I am pleased that we will intensify our successful collaboration with the Novasep team, soon to be under the Sartorius roof,” said Dr. René Fáber, Head of the Sartorius Bioprocess Solutions Division and Executive Board member. “The Novasep portfolio will perfectly complement our existing chromatography offering and allow us to provide customers with more options for their manufacturing processes. Efficient DSP has remained a challenge in our industry for years, and Sartorius is committed to helping accelerate and simplify this crucial step so that new drugs can be manufactured much more efficiently.”

“This deal marks one of the first steps in our Rise-2 strategic program to focus the group towards our core business” said Dr. Michel Spagnol, President & CEO of Novasep. “We are delighted to strengthen our relationship with the Sartorius team and believe it will be a great opportunity for the chromatography equipment business to fully deliver its potential and accelerate its growth under this new ownership.”