Pion Acquires BEE International Adding New Capabilities to an Innovative Portfolio of Formulation Development Technologies for Biopharmaceutical Companies
SFW Capital-Backed Pion’s Acquisition of BEE International Adds Next-Generation Emulsifying and Homogenization Technology to Broaden Its Product Portfolio
Billerica, MA, December 22, 2022: Pion Inc., a leading provider of innovative analytical solutions for drug development, has acquired Best Emulsifying Equipment (BEE) International, a provider of ultra-high pressure homogenization technology solutions, adding homogenization capabilities to integrated, in vitro solutions for accelerated drug development.
The acquisition of BEE International by Pion Inc. underlines a commitment to providing broader, integrated in vitro solutions for highly productive formulation studies, powered to accelerate and de-risk drug development. BEE International brings cutting-edge homogenization and patented emulsification technology to the Pion portfolio, for sample property optimization. Adding this to Pion’s best-in-class lab equipment for drug characterization helps scientists to efficiently establish cause-and-effect relationships for rapid progress. Following on from the acquisition of Two Square Science earlier this month, this latest investment signals continuing, exciting progress toward an extended toolkit for formulation.
“Pion’s well-defined focus is bridging the gap between in vitro experiments and in vivo outcomes,” said Brian Dutko, CEO for Pion Inc. “Our innovative analytical instrumentation does that job really well, accelerating drug development and saving customers time and money on in vivo studies. The next step is to add in lab equipment for formulation manipulation such as BEE’s excellent homogenization technology. Our aim is to support streamlined workflows based on changing formulation properties and representatively assessing the effects, to enable faster, more effective drug development.”
Pion has a suite of industry-leading technology for dissolution testing and physicochemical characterization and offers assays to investigate absorption and permeability. These solutions help companies confidently decide which drug substances and drug products to advance through the development pipeline. In-depth scientific expertise and support are hallmarks of the Pion approach.
BEE International focuses exclusively on homogenization, emulsification and cell lysis offering a range of products for lab, pilot and process-scale operation. Lab equipment allows formulators to rapidly explore a wide range of mixing conditions, create nanoemulsions, achieve cell lysis, and ensure closely controlled particle size distribution. The technology is readily and easily scalable from lab to pilot to manufacturing.
“Our technology has considerable potential for drug formulation and manufacture,” said Tal Shechter, CEO BEE International. “By joining forces with Pion, we will make it easier for customers to capitalize on this potential. They will be able to use our technology to modify sample properties and Pion’s technology to assess the effect all in one laboratory. The result will be robust cause-and-effect relationships between process conditions, formulation properties and likely drug product performance in vivo. Working with the Pion team will be great. They have widely respected expertise in the area of drug development and share our passion for innovation.”
About Pion
Pion Inc. is the leading provider of analytical instruments that bridge the gap between in vitro experiments and in vivo outcomes. The instruments help companies confidently decide which drug substances and drug products to progress through the development pipeline while reducing risk and long-term investment. The product range investigates the dissolution, solubility, permeation, ionization and absorption properties of compounds and drug products. This provides users with richer, more relevant insights, not easily accessible before animal studies. With a 20+ year heritage, Pion serves a multi-billion dollar global market for tools and analytical instrumentation. It is headquartered in Massachusetts and has a European office in the UK. For more information, visit www.pion-inc.com.
About BEE International
BEE International manufactures high pressure homogenizers to expand mixing/blending/grinding process capabilities for particle size reduction and cell rupture applications. We serve the pharmaceutical, biotech, cannabis, chemical, food and beverage industries worldwide.
In the lab, BEE technology allows the product developer to quickly apply a wide variety of mixing techniques to a single formulation to systematically determine the cause-and-effect relationship between factors affecting a process and the results of that process. With this information, new products are developed faster and are easily scalable from lab to manufacturing.
BEE’s High pressure homogenization technology is a fluid mechanical process. Unlike other mixers, which apply one type of force to a product, our patented Emulsifying Cell (EC) incorporates shear, cavitation and impact to break down, mix and blend. The result is a thoroughly mixed product for even the most challenging applications. For more information, visit www.Beei.com.
Contact:
Dave Dolak
Director of Global Strategic Marketing
Pion Inc.
10 Cook Street
Billerica, MA 01821
Tel: 978.528.2020 x188
www.pion-inc.com
