SAFC launches biosciences division

Sigma-Aldrich Fine Chemicals (SAFC) has set up a new business division called SAFC Biosciences to encompass its biopharmaceutical development and cell culture-related manufacturing services.

SAFC Biosciences will form a quartet of divisions under the SAFC umbrella alongside SAFC Specialties, SAFC Hi-tech and SAFC Pharma. The new entity incorporates JRH Biosciences, which SAFC acquired earlier this year, and is part of the company's strategy to grow overall sales of SAFC by 10% annually from a 2004 value of $425 million.

The company aims to achieve this by organic growth of 7% per annum and 3% by acquisition.

Frank Wicks, SAFC president, said JRH Biosciences was already a clear market leader in cell culture and services for therapeutic proteins and is the primary vendor for 63% of approved cell culture-based drugs. "If all the production vessels were running flat out, we could probably provide the entire world's demand for cell culture,'' he said.

Wicks said SAFC Biosciences would be a crucial part of SAFC's growth strategy and would be a platform "to capture high growth in a sector where technology, regulatory compliance, manufacturing scale and speed-of-response are key to adding value in customer partnerships."

SAFC Biosciences, headquartered in Kansas (USA) has five production facilities in the US, Europe and Australia, and employs 650 people.

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