Sartorius has bought Sweden-based software firm, MKS Instruments (Umetrics), for $72.5 million, from MKS Instruments Group in the U.S. Umetrics specializes in data analytics for modelling and optimizing Biopharma development and manufacturing. Sartorius also announced completing its previously announced, $320 million acquisition of live-cell imaging and analysis instrumentation firm Essen BioScience. Essen separately reported the release of its IncuCyte® S3 live-cell analysis platform.

Sartorius acquired Umetrics through its Sartorius Stedim Biotech subsidiary. The firms have been working with each other for five years, Sartorius said. Umetrics expects to generate $15 million in sales revenues in 2017, with double-digit profit margins.

In addition to the recent Umetrics and Essen acquisitions, Sartorius has, since July 2016, also purchased cell-screening firm IntelliCyt, U.S. centrifuge technology start-up kSep Systems, and virus quantification start-up, ViroCyt. “Through the five companies that we have acquired over the past nine months, we have further extended the footprint of both our Group divisions in biopharmaceutical applications considerably,” commented Group CEO Joachim Kreuzburg. “Even though the market environment has leveled off to normal growth levels as expected, we are well on track to achieve our increased annual targets.”

Sartorius announced its acquisition of Essen BioScience last month, which the firm said would expand its portfolio in bioanalytics, a field Sartorius first entered through its acquisition of IntelliCyt in June last year. More recently, in January 2017, Sartorius Stedim Biotech opened a new validation lab in China. In November last year, Sartorius opened a new bioanalytical and biosafety testing hub in Boston, MA; and in December the firm expanded its Sartorius Stedim Cellca facility in Sweden.

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