Fujifilm expands its healthcare footprint with $800M acquisition of cell-culture manufacturers

Fujifilm continues to expand its healthcare footprint with the recent acquisition of a pair of cell culture media units from Japan’s JXTG Holdings for about $800 million.

The photography and imaging company, which has said it plans to be a major player in the healthcare sector, by June expects to complete the purchase of all outstanding shares of JXTG’s two companies—Irvine Scientific Sales based in California and IS Japan.

Culture medium is a solid, liquid or semi-solid designed to support the growth of microorganisms or cells.  Both Irvine Scientific and IS produce a variety of products including culture media for biopharmaceutical production, in vitro fertilization and cell therapy.

The company said in a statement that the acquisitions combined with Fujifilm’s bio-medical-related technologies will help “further expansion of the contact development and manufacturing business for biopharmaceuticals, the acceleration of research and development in the area of regenerative medicine, and the further expansion of reagent business.”

In February, Fujifilm announced it would invest about $37.5 million to build a plant to produce liposomes at the production site of its Toyama Chemical unit in Tokyo. It said construction is slated to begin in September and to be operational by February 2020.

Fujifilm's contract manufacturing operations have been expanding with about $130 million in announced investments in its 10,000-square-foot, cell culture process development laboratories in Billingham, U.K.