Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Millipore, Applikon to co-develop disposable bioreactors

By Mass High Tech Staff

Millipore Corp., a Billerica biosciences firm with expertise in disposable medical supplies, has teamed with Applikon Biotechnology BV, a Netherlands supplier of bioreactor systems, to develop and supply disposable bioreactor systems.

The joint effort combines the downstream bioprocessing experience of Millipore (NYSE: MIL) with Applikon’s familiarity with upstream processing, as well as controllers and bioreactors, officials from both companies report. The agreement calls for a reliance on Millipore’s Mobius suite of disposable technologies, which includes mixers, connectors, valves, process containers and filtration products. Further terms of the development agreement were not disclosed.

Millipore recently reported slight growth in both revenue and profit for the third quarter of 2008. According to Martin Madaus, chairman and CEO of Millipore, the company’s bioprocess division led its top-line growth for the period, bouncing back in North America after four steeply declining quarters in a row.

In October, Millipore opened a new $83 million, 30,000-square-foot manufacturing facility for membrane production in Carrigtwohill, County Cork, Ireland. The opening came in response to the company’s September consolidation announcement, which involved the closing of some facilities (Lincoln Park, N.J.; Consett, U.K.; Cambridge, U.K.; and Nodinge, Sweden) and transfer of that work to other facilities.

Another company, Xcellerex Inc. of Marlborough, has built its business around the development of disposable bioreactors as well. The company is a privately held provider of manufacturing systems for biotherapeutics and vaccines based on its single-use, disposable component technology. Last year, Xcellerex pulled in $20 million in a second round of financing, which funded a shift in the company’s strategy toward selling disposable manufacturing technology to other companies.  The firm’s Series C round of financing came later last year with an investment of $31 million.