Merck Millipore to sell Discovery and Development Solutions Business to Eurofins
DDS provides bioanalytical testing and early stage discovery services to the biopharmaceutical market
Merck Millipore has agreed to sell its Discovery and Development Solutions (DDS) business to Eurofins Scientific, based in Des Moines, Iowa, US. No financial details have been revealed.
DDS provides bioanalytical testing and early stage discovery services and products to the biopharmaceutical market. It has sales of around US$35m and employs 175 people at three sites in St. Charles (Missouri), Dundee (Scotland) and Oxford (England). In addition to its discovery pharmacology expertise, the company offers bioanalytical testing to support clinical trials.
Eurofins says the acquisition of DDS strengthens its presence in the early stage discovery solutions market while adding the most advanced expertise in high-quality bioanalytical services.
After completion of the transaction, DDS will be renamed Eurofins Pharma BioAnalytical Services and continue to provide products and services to Merck KGaA's pharma business.
As part of the agreement, Christina Shasserre, who has more than 10 years' experience in the laboratory services market and has been heading the DDS business since 2010, will continue as President of Eurofins Pharma BioAnalytical Services after completion, which is expected to be within 90 days.
'The addition of DDS into the Eurofins network reinforces our leading position in the discovery pharmacology market, and expands our large molecules bioanalytical service capability to meet the growing needs of our pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical clients,' commented Gilles Martin, Eurofins' CEO.