Merck KGaA and Lonza Separately Acquire Indian Bioscience Companies

Merck KGaA’s Indian subsidiary, Merck Specialties Private, acquired Bangalore Genei Private (BGIP; India) from the Sanmar Group. Lonza separately announced taking over the preclinical cell and molecular biology assets of Bangalore-based Simbiosys Biowares India, a subsidiary of Texas-based cell biology services company Simbiosys Biowares.

Bangalore Genei specializes in the development, production, and sales of products for proteomic and genomic research. The company generated total revenues of about €3 million in fiscal year 2008. Christina Shassere, global head of Merck’s bioscience business, says that BGIP’s portfolio is tailored to the requirements of the Indian market. “BGIP’s leadership in the Indian academic market, a segment with high growth potential, will ideally complement our existing customer base”.

Simbiosys Biowares India offers preclinical services for drug discovery (including lead validation and lead development) and molecular biology (DNA amplification, cloning, DNA/RNA isolation, synthetic gene construction, and quantitative PCR) along with process development services for small molecules, proteins, and mAbs.

Anja Fiedler, head of Lonza Biosciences, maintains that the acquisition of the company’s cell and molecular biology assets in India fits in with Lonza’s strategy to further develop its life science platform and expand its global cell biology portfolio.