Charles River Laboratories has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Celsis International for $212 million. Celsis is a provider of rapid bacterial detection systems for quality control testing in the biopharmaceutical and consumer products industries. Celsis’s systems are principally used for product-release testing to help ensure the safe manufacture of drugs and consumer products. The acquisition complements Charles River Endotoxin and Microbial Detection’s (EMD) position as a provider of rapid endotoxin testing and bacterial identification for biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

The addition of Celsis, with its Advance II, Accel, and Innovate systems for non-sterile applications, will complement EMD’s recently introduced PTS-Micro, a rapid bacterial (bioburden) detection system for sterile biopharmaceutical applications. The comprehensive EMD and Celsis portfolio is expected to drive increased adoption of EMD’s quality control testing solutions across both sterile and non-sterile applications, as clients seek a single provider for their rapid product-release testing needs.

“The acquisition of Celsis combines leading providers of endotoxin and bacterial testing and bacterial identification to establish EMD as a comprehensive provider of rapid quality control testing solutions across multiple industries,” said James Foster, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Charles River Laboratories. “The acquisition nearly doubles the market opportunity for EMD testing products and services, offering access to the consumer products market in addition to our core biopharmaceutical market. Celsis’s robust financial profile enhances the EMD business, which is our highest-growth and one of our highest-margin businesses. We expect Celsis to be immediately accretive to non-GAAP earnings per share in 2015, with a more significant contribution in 2016 and beyond.”