COVID test kit maker SD Biosensor buys Italian medical device firm

The Korean firm is proactively acquiring global medical device companies to secure cash flow in the post-pandemic era

SD Biosensor CEO Lee Hyo-geun (Courtesy of Young-Woo Kim)

In-Hyuk Park and Ju-Hyun Lee 1

2022-04-22 17:09:16 hyuk@hankyung.com

Mergers & Acquisitions

SD Biosensor Inc., South Korea’s top manufacturer of COVID-19 test kits, said on Friday that it has signed a deal to purchase a 100% stake in Relab Srl, an Italian medical device distributor, for €46.2 million ($50 million). The Korean company will acquire the shares on June 30, according to its regulatory filing.

Founded in 2004, the Italian company is providing in-vitro diagnostics reagents and devices to the European country. SD Biosensor is aiming to expand its business in Italy via the acquisition.

Italy is the biggest importer of SD Biosensor’s Standard M10, a molecular diagnostics platform that reveals a test result within an hour. An Italian regional government is already in the bidding process for the product, the Korean medical device firm said.

SD Biosensor is proactively acquiring medical firms in preparation for the post-pandemic era. It bought the whole stake in Brazil’s diagnostics kit company Eco Diagnóstica, for 47 billion won ($37.9 million). In March of this year, the firm said it will take over Bestbion, a German diagnostic products distributor, for 16.1 billion won.

The Korean firm is also expanding its molecular diagnostics kit production capacity. In March, the firm said it will invest 188 billion won in increasing its Standard M10 manufacturing facility in Jeungpyeong County, North Chungcheong Province in Korea.

The expanded facility will raise its annual production of 40 million cartridge units to 97 million. Including 30,000 units of Standard M10, the firm is aiming for manufacturing cartridges for the detection of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C (HCV) and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) this year.

For the M&As and capacity expansion, SD Biosensor is using the capital raised through its IPO last July and generated from self-diagnostics test kit sales. The firm’s total assets as of the end-2021 reach 3 trillion won.

Write to In-Hyuk Park and Ju-Hyun Lee at hyuk@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.