Serialisation player Werum to join Körber group

Germany's Körber AG has expanded its presence in the pharma sector with a deal to buy IT company Werum.

The objective of the acquisition is to expand Körber's Medipak Systems unit, which specialises in inspection and packaging technologies as well as the manufacture of high-quality packaging for pharmaceutical products.

Werum provides manufacturing execution systems (MES) software called PAS-X for control and monitoring in pharma manufacturing facilities, which includes a track-and-trace module developed in collaboration with various industry partners.

"Software solutions such as the products and services provided by Werum are becoming increasingly important for us as a technology group, and are also highly relevant from a strategic perspective,” said Körber's chairman Richard Bauer.

The Werum brand will be retained after the deal goes through, with the resulting Werum IT Solutions unit employing around 400 workers at 10 sites in Europe, the USA, Japan and Singapore.

A remaining unit - Werum Software & Systems CIS AG - is not part of the deal as it focuses on sectors outside pharma and will continue to operate as a separate entity.