Japan’s Hitachi Chemical is buying Apceth Biopharma, a German contract manufacturer of complex cell-based and gene-therapy products, for €75.5 million. The acquisition is expected to close in April 2019.

Apceth Biopharma manufactures regenerative medicine products, including induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells for cancer immunotherapy and mesenchymal stem cells, for drugmakers located mostly in Europe and the US. The Munich-based company employs around 120 people and operates two production facilities at Ottobrunn and Grosshadern in Germany.

The deal extends Hitachi’s footprint in Europe, which it said is the second-largest market for regenerative medicines behind the US.

The Japanese company is also building on its acquisition in March 2017 of US-based contract manufacturer PCT from Caldrius Biosciences for $75 million. The company, which now operates as Hitachi Chemical Advanced Therapeutics Solutions (HCATS), expanded its site in Allendale, New Jersey, last year, adding a new facility and upgrading the existing plant. HCATS also operates a plant in California and another in Yokohama, Japan, which started commercial operations in April 2018.

Commenting on the transaction, Robert Preti, CEO of HCATS, said: “The addition of Apceth Biopharma to Hitachi Chemical will strengthen our presence in the second-largest cell and gene therapy market in the world, and enable us to offer a truly harmonized global operation, providing our customers with ready access to new markets and maximizing the value we bring to the industry.”