5th June 2020

BBI Group Completes Major German Acquisition

BBI Group, a provider of products and services to the healthcare and diagnostics industries, has expanded with the acquisition of a German company.

The Crumlin-based business has acquired DIARECT, a supplier of autoimmune antigen products.

DIARECT has experienced significant growth for its product lines which are used in a wide variety of tests to assist in the diagnosis of various autoimmune and infectious diseases.

BBI, which has manufacturing sites and sales offices across four continents, will integrate DIARECT’s manufacturing facility in Germany, to establish a Centre of Excellence for recombinant antigen development and manufacturing in Freiburg.

BBI Group chief executive Mario Gualano said: “The acquisition of DIARECT immediately enhances our portfolio and positions BBI as a ‘complete’ immunoassay reagent supplier and therefore a natural partner for our customers.”

The combined capability enables BBI to further service high growth disease segments such as cancer, cardiac conditions and diabetes, while also enabling BBI to drive geographic expansion for DIARECT, which will benefit from a bigger sales force.

Heinz Haubruck, chief executive and co-founding shareholder of DIARECT, added:”The combined research and development capability will provide our customers with new, innovative products. This and the expansion of our product portfolio will offer our customers a more comprehensive range of products.”