Sartorius extends its cell culture media business via acquisition

Acquiring Xell AG will enable Sartorius to offer specialised media for manufacturing viral vectors

Xell (formerly TeutoCell AG) emerged from the Institute of Cell Culture Technology at Bielefeld University, Germany, in 2009, and has grown to become independent and privately financed biotech company employing approximately 35 people.

In 2019, a brand-new manufacturing facility was brought into operation, supporting large-scale production of liquid and dry powder formulations such as cell culture media, buffer and medical products.

Not only does Xell develop, produce, and market media and feed supplements for cell cultures, especially for manufacturing viral vectors that are used in gene therapeutics and vaccines, it also provides a range of analytical services for characterising, screening, and quantifying media components, as well as for optimising media composition.

Both parties agreed on a purchase price of around 50 million euro in addition to two earn‑out components contingent upon the achievement of defined revenue targets in 2022 to 2025.

Further to accelerating the expansion of its production network, the acquisition expands Sartorius's current media offering to include specialised media for manufacturing viral vectors and media analytics.