bioMérieux builds Chinese diagnostics presence through acquisition
This article was originally published in Scrip
bioMérieux has acquired the Chinese rapid diagnostics company Meikang Biotech, in a move aimed at building its presence and capabilities in the fast-growing Chinese market.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but the French group noted that Shanghai-based Meikang employed around 250 people and had estimated revenues of around €5 million last year. Its major products include tests for infectious and cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Rapid point-of-care diagnostics are expected to become increasingly important companion products to novel targeted therapeutics, particularly in the oncology sector. Here, confirmation of disease-linked genetic mutations, for example, can be important in optimising patient response and drug efficacy. The point-of-care diagnostics segment as a whole was experiencing double-digit annual growth, bioMérieux CEO Stéphane Bancel noted.
Meikang has a GMP production site in Shanghai with an output of 30 million rapid tests per year, along with R&D and commercial operations. Manufacturing at the site will be expanded to other products for global markets over the next few years.
bioMérieux, whose Chinese operations are already based in Shanghai, will use the acquisition as a base for an expanded greater China headquarters and Asia-Pacific corporate offices. These will provide a full range of functions from R&D through to regulatory and commercial operations, together with customer training and other pan-Asian support.