Waunakee-based Scientific Protein Labs (SPL) will be purchased by Shenzhen Hepalink Pharmaceutical, a Chinese manufacturer, for $337.5 million, pending regulatory approvals. SPL employs 167 workers in Waunakee and another 34 in an Iowa location. All will keep their jobs, according to reports.
The Waunakee company was spun off from Oscar Mayer Foods almost 40 years ago. It manufactures the active pharmaceutical ingredient in heparin, a drug commonly used for thinning blood, as well as an enzyme replacement for people with cystic fibrosis and those with pancreatic problems.
Combining with Hepalink will reportedly allow for the introduction of new products and company expansion. The transaction could be completed during the first half of 2014.
