GEA ups Asian freeze-drying activity with BSGT purchase

By Wai Lang Chu

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Freeze drying

GEA Pharma Systems stamps its authority in the Asian Pacific’s emerging freeze drying industry acquiring Beijing Sino-German Tianhe Technology (BGST).

The move strengthens GEA Pharma’s position in China and the Asia Pacific region as it attempts to capitalise in one of the fastest growing markets worldwide.

Renamed GEA Lyophil (Beijing), the company forms part of GEA Lyophil, a technology company within GEA Process Engineering specialising in pharmaceutical freeze-drying technology based in Cologne, Germany.

“The acquisition of BSGT fits perfectly with this company’s long-term global objectives as a global leader in pharmaceutical freeze-drying technology,”​ said Ron Youngs, president of GEA Pharma Systems.

“It is essential that we align our production and distribution capabilities precisely with our customers’ needs,”​ he said.

GEA’s investment in the region is a response to the Chinese pharmaceutical industry’s heavy investment in top quality production technology both for domestic and export pharmaceuticals.

The firm’s parent company, GEA Lyophil, already holds an established position in China with a major manufacturing facility in Shanghai and an engineering, service and after-sales structure throughout the country.

Last year GEA Lyophil won an order from the Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. in Taizhou Zhejiang, China for the supply of pharmaceutical freeze dryers with automatic load and unload systems (ALUS).

The order represented a breakthrough in the region allowing Hisun to expand its operations into formulated pharmaceutical products for vaccines for oncology and infective diseases.

Expanding operations in India

GEA Pharma Systems’ acquisition closely follows other activities within the region. Last year saw the equipment specialists expand on an agency representation agreement with ACE Technologies of Mumbai to begin distributing GEA Lyophil’s pharmaceutical freeze-drying technology throughout India.

At the time, GEA noted increased demand from India-based drugmakers for equipment which complied with international quality standards. Using this equipment can improve the quality of products destined for the local market and help companies break into Europe, which stands as the single largest market in freeze-drying equipment.

GEA’s attempt to now go global with its Chinese acquisition puts it in direct competition with established freeze drying specialists including Biopharma Process Systems Ltd., IMA Life and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

According to Global Industry Analysts, Inc, the global market for Freeze Drying Equipment is forecast to reach $2bn by 2015, driven primarily by new injectable drugs, vaccines and biological products in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

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