CareFusion to purchase automation specialist Rowa

CareFusion has announced the acquisition of Rowa, a creator of automation solutions for pharmacies, in a deal worth $150 million (93.7 million pounds).

The newly acquired business is the leading pharmacy automation company in western Europe and develops high-speed robotic medication storage and retrieval systems for retail and hospital pharmacies.

It has more than 3,500 installations across 30 countries to help pharmacies to reduce costs and improve workflow, with the number of installations rising by nine percent last year.

By purchasing the Germany-based company, CareFusion will be able to expand its presence in the global medication management sector and support the continued growth of its complementary Pyxis portfolio.

Kieran Gallahue, chairman and chief executive officer of CareFusion, said: "We see an opportunity to provide customers outside the US with a complete medication management offering and accelerate our global growth in the retail and hospital pharmacy automation segments."

This comes after the firm announced last month that it is becoming a distributor for the automated blister pack cutting system BlisPack, manufactured by Grifols.