Sartorius to acquire French manufacturer for $2.6B+ in cell and gene therapy play

The German life science group Sartorius will be picking up French contract manufacturer Polyplus for the price of €2.4 billion, or $2.6 billion.

On Friday, Sartorius announced the acquisition through its French subgroup, Sartorius Stedim Biotech, which will be acquiring Polyplus from private investors ARCHIMED and WP GG Holdings IV. Polyplus has 270 employees and produces materials and components that go into making viral vectors that are used in cell and gene therapies. This includes DNA/RNA reagents as well as plasmid DNA. Polyplus has locations in France, Belgium, China and the US.

Sartorius mentioned in its release that Polyplus is expected to generate sales revenue in the “upper double-digit million-euro” range this year. The deal is expected to close sometime in the third quarter of this year.

René Fáber

“As a leading supplier of critical components to produce cell and gene therapies, Sartorius and Polyplus together will be excellently positioned to play a significant role in this dynamic field,” said René Fáber, the head of the bioprocess solutions division of Sartorius, in a release.

This is not the only play that Sartorius has made in the cell and gene therapy space in recent years. In 2022, it acquired UK-based Albumedix, a maker of albumin products that are used in making cell therapies and vaccines, for £415 million, or far north of $500 million.

gene therapy
vaccines
biotech