SD Biosensor Completes Acquisition of Meridian... "Full-Scale Entry into the US Market"

Completion of Procedures Six Months After Acquisition Decision
Plans to Strengthen Diagnostic Platform and Expand Global Distribution Network

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] SD Biosensor announced on the 1st that it has completed the acquisition of the U.S. diagnostic company Meridian Bioscience.

Founded in 1976, Meridian Bioscience operates in the LS (Life Sciences) business and DX (Diagnostics) business sectors. SD Biosensor plans to strengthen its diagnostic platform together with Meridian Bioscience and officially enter the U.S. market based on this acquisition.

Earlier, in July last year, SD Biosensor formed a consortium with the private equity firm SJL Partners and signed a contract to acquire Meridian Bioscience for $1.53 billion (approximately 2 trillion KRW).

At the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPMHC), the largest event in the pharmaceutical and bio industry held in San Francisco, U.S., on the 10th of last month, SD Biosensor announced plans to independently operate from raw material development to production within the U.S. by enhancing its diagnostic platform R&D capabilities through the Meridian acquisition. It also revealed plans to add Meridian’s products, which hold a high market share in the U.S. such as GI (gastrointestinal) panels and lead poisoning diagnostic products, to SD Biosensor’s product portfolio.

At the event, Hyeim Cho, Executive Director of SD Biosensor, emphasized, "The purpose of acquiring Meridian is to quickly enter the U.S. market by utilizing local production and distribution networks and accelerating FDA registration." She added, "We plan to build automated facilities locally to meet demand within the U.S."

Meanwhile, SD Biosensor plans to grow into a global company by expanding to a direct sales system in 10 countries within this year. Starting with Brazil’s ECO, SD Biosensor acquired Germany’s Bestbion and Italy’s Rilab sequentially and established a direct sales system. The company stated that future mergers and acquisitions (M&A) will focus on companies that can expand R&D scope or overseas diagnostic distributors.