Sartorius Completes Acquisition of Novasep's Chromatography Business

Göttingen, Germany, February 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The life science group Sartorius announced today that, following approval from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, it completed the acquisition of Novasep's chromatography business through its subsidiary Sartorius Stedim Biotech on February 7, 2022. The relevant parties had reached an agreement on this transaction in early 2021. The acquired business generated approximately 40 million euros in sales in 2020, with a double-digit profit margin; the final data for 2021 has not yet been released. The majority of the approximately 100 employees work at the Pompey site in eastern France, with others located in the United States, China, and India.

Novartis Chromatography Process

The acquired product portfolio includes chromatography systems primarily applicable to small biomolecules (such as oligonucleotides, peptides, and insulin), as well as innovative systems for the continuous manufacturing of biologics. Since 2018, Novartis and Sartorius have also been working jointly on developing optimized systems for membrane-based chromatography technology.

Head of Sartorius Bioprocess Solutions and Executive DirectorRene FaberDr. stated: "The Novasep product portfolio will fill the gaps in our existing chromatography offerings, providing more options for our customers' manufacturing processes. For many years, efficient downstream bioprocessing has been a tough challenge facing the industry. Sartorius has always been committed to accelerating and simplifying this critical step, thereby enabling more efficient production of new drugs."

Due to the expected additional non-organic sales revenue growth of approximately 1 percentage point contributed by this acquisition in 2022, Sartorius has updated its sales revenue forecast for the current year as follows: consolidated sales revenue is now expected to increase by about 15%-19% (previously expected to be around 14%-18%), with non-organic growth from acquisitions expected to contribute approximately 2 percentage points (previously expected to be around 1 percentage point). The company's underlying EBITDA margin for this year is still forecasted to be approximately 34%.

Sartorius now expects the sales revenue growth rate of its Bioprocess Solutions segment to reach 17%-21% in 2022 (previously forecast at approximately 16%-20%), with non-organic growth from acquisitions contributing about 2 percentage points (previously expected at approximately 1 percentage point). The segment’s underlying EBITDA margin is still projected to be around 36%. The growth forecast for the Lab Products & Services segment in 2022 remains unchanged: thus, the company still anticipates a sales revenue growth rate of approximately 6%-10%, with non-organic growth from acquisitions contributing about 1 percentage point, and the segment’s underlying EBITDA margin is expected to be approximately 26%.

All forecasts are based on stable exchange rates.