Indicia Production, a company specialized in the manufacture of ready-to-use culture media and sterile liquid products, has acquired METIS Biotechnologies, a company that develops, produces and markets rapid microbiological analysis solutions using flow cytometry. Financial terms were not disclosed.

METIS Biotechnologies’ analytical solutions can be automated from sampling to results rendering. They are applicable for the pharmaceutical, food processing and cosmetics industries. The instruments and reagents on offer allow companies to carry out in-situ analysis, such as on the sterility of UHT dairy products, fruit juices and other food products, also the detection of acidophilic and acid-resistant floras in fruit juices as well as bacteria, yeasts and molds in cosmetic products.

This acquisition expands Indicia Production’s current traditional microbiological media offering with the fast and tailored microbiological analysis technology using flow cytometry, developed by METIS Biotechnologies.

Indicia Production currently offers three product families: Ready-to-use microbiological culture media environments for control laboratories for the cosmetics, food and pharmaceutical industries; sterile products and reagents for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries; and liquid medical devices.

“We could not have found a better buyer than Indicia Production, a leader in custom production and high-quality ready-to-use microbiological culture media. The acquisition will allow us to offer a complete range of microbiological analysis to our customers,” said Bruno Vedrine, founder of METIS, now chief scientific officer at Indicia and director of the Limoges site. “This is a particularly exciting step for the future of METIS Biotechnologies as it will enable us to strengthen our sales force in France and abroad.”

“The integration of METIS Biotechnologies will strengthen Indicia’s presence on the industrial microbiological control market, in which we have been present since 2008. The technology developed by METIS is now fully operational and meets the needs of the industry,” said Stéphane Legastelois, chief executive officer, Indicia Production. “In addition, METIS’ know-how in custom solutions will complement our services. This acquisition is part of our strategy to develop through external growth, with a special focus on vertical integration in the field of industrial microbiology.”

Following the acquisition, the consolidated company will operate with 57 employees. Its turnover is estimated to reach €8 million ($8.35M) in 2017.