TECHNOLOGY innovator Malvern Instruments is expanding.

The company on Enigma Business Park has acquired the MicroCal™ microcalorimetry business of GE Healthcare Life Sciences of Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire.

Financial terms were not disclosed and the acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to complete in the third quarter of 2014.

MicroCal has a 30-year history of developing and supplying easy-to-use microcalorimeters.

These systems are used extensively to study proteins and other biomolecules in drug discovery and development.

The acquisition of MicroCal will further strengthen Malvern’s rapidly expanding portfolio of analytical solutions for customers in core pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical markets.

Paul Walker, managing director of Malvern Instruments, said: “Microcalorimetry is now an essential tool that is used at almost every stage of the drug discovery, development and formulation process.

MicroCal is an established technology leader in the field and MicroCal products are an excellent fit with Malvern’s existing portfolio of measurement solutions for the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries.

This addition to our business will have an immediate impact on Malvern’s ability to provide a complete range of instrumentation solutions and support across life science research and development."

Although headquartered in the UK, Malvern Instruments is a global business that serves a diverse range of academic and industrial markets, providing instrumentation for the analysis of a wide variety of materials. The company is part of the Materials Analysis Division of Spectris plc.