Serum Institute buys Netherlands's Bilthoven Biologicals for $40 million

Serum Institute of India, the flagship company of the Poonawalla Group, has acquired Dutch vaccine maker Bilthoven Biologicals for about 32 million euros (about $40 million), gaining access to the technology for manufacturing injectable polio vaccine.

Through the acquisition, the Serum Institute, India's largest vaccine company, will get access to technology and expertise for making the injectable polio vaccine (Salk), the company said in a release.

As of now, only three other companies possess the unique capability and expertise to manufacture injectable polio vaccine globally.

The first overseas acquisition by the over $1 billion Poonawalla Group, this will also provide the Group and Serum Institute an important manufacturing base in Europe, with access to the important European and US markets.

Bilthoven Biologicals, located in the city of Bilthoven, near Amsterdam, has a manufacturing facility spread over 20 acres and employs over 200 people. The facility has a manufacturing capacity of over 20 million doses of vaccines a year and markets most of the vaccines in Europe and other developing countries.

 ''The Poonawalla Group, as indeed Serum has constantly striven hard to provide the highest quality vaccines at affordable prices to the world. This acquisition will significantly strengthen our position in the global vaccines market, while giving us access to the technology and production facility of injectable polio vaccine (Salk),'' Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman of the Poonawalla Group and Serum Institute, said.