Pall Corp. buys California biotech firm

Pall Corp. said Wednesday that it has bought a California biotech company, MicroReactor Technologies Inc.

Pall, the Port Washington-based maker of filtration, separation and purification systems, did not say how much it paid.

A company news release said it bought the privately held MicroReactor to get its "reliable, easy-to-use and cost-effective miniature bioreactor technology platform."

Pall said the purchase will help it better compete in the "$1 billion biopharmaceuticals process monitoring and process development market."

MicroReactor's products could help pharmaceutical researchers develop drugs more quickly and with less material. "Cell culture optimization, as a starting point for new biotech drug development, can greatly benefit from this approach," Pall said.

MicroReactor was founded in 2003 in Mountain View, Calif.

"We are excited by this acquisition and the increased opportunities it presents for our biotechnology process development and laboratory programs," Pall chief executive Eric Krasnoff said in a statement.

"Customers seek better tools for rapid process development and process monitoring. The addition of MRT further broadens Pall Life Sciences support of customers in this rapidly growing market. We welcome the newest members of the Pall family."

Pall Corp., with total revenues of $2.3 billion for fiscal 2009, is an S&P 500 company with more than 10,000 employees.

Shares of PLL were up in morning trading.