Swedish 3D bioprinting company CELLINK announced the acquisition of German biodistribution technology company Dispendix GmbH for 5 million euros. The transaction will enable CELLINK to acquire all shares of Dispendix and add the company's technology to its own bioprinting solution.
Dispendix's technology, its patented Instant Drop Point Technology (IDOT), is designed to accelerate the drug testing process. The IDOT process itself was developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for 10 years, and Dispendix launched the platform's first commercial product, I-DOT One, in 2017. The product has a range of dispensing applications including cell distribution, matrigel distribution, array generation, and more.
When acquiring the German company, CELLINK will add Dispendix technology to its product portfolio (including Bio X printers and various bio-linkers) to increase the dispensing rate of bioinks. IDOT's ability to distribute single cells will also enable CELLINK and its customers to build micro-tissues faster and more reproducibly.
"Our innovative products for contactless, high-throughput distribution and CELLINK's comprehensive bioprinting technology will [expand] and provide additional applications for researchers in the life sciences industry," said Harry Boeltz, CEO and co-founder of Dispendix .
Dispendix's IDOT technology
It is understood that Dispendix's products will be seamlessly integrated into CELLINK's bioprinting product portfolio, which is mainly targeted at pharmaceutical companies, which will benefit from fast bio-dispensing distribution. With this acquisition, CELLINK aims to gradually integrate into the pharmaceutical market.
CELLINK CEO Erik Gatenholm said, "With this strategic acquisition, we look forward to taking a new step in the development of CELLINK and focusing on the pharmaceutical industry." "The Dispendix technology platform complements CELLINK's product portfolio well, and through Higher repeatability and the ability to print more relevant organizational structures have increased the use of our innovative biochips. The two companies work together to provide more comprehensive solutions to academic and pharmaceutical customers worldwide. "
The € 5 million acquisition will be partially paid in cash (€ 2 million) and partially through CELLINK shares. According to the agreement, the shares will be locked for three years (100% of the shares will be locked for one year, 70% for two years, and 40% for three years).
CELLINK said it believes that in its 2018/2019 financial year, the new group's net sales will increase by approximately 1.16 million euros (SEK 12 million). Dispendix estimates that it will have a profit neutral effect on the group in the same financial year as the company focuses on the development of new products.