Becton Dickinson (BD) has updated its shareholders on its acquisition of a Limerick-based medical technology company for about $150 million (€117 million).

The US company said that GenCell, the Irish biotech firm founded by 34-year old Kieran Curran, brought it into “a fast-growing space that represents a great opportunity for BD”.

“BD will combine its experience with GenCell’s proprietary technology to meet unmet needs,” it told investors.

The company, which had revenues of $8.4 billion in 2014, said the acquisition of GenCell was not large enough to “materially impact earnings” so it did not have to disclose the price it paid for the privately owned Limerick company. GenCell has developed a sequencing technology that allows labs to analyse DNA more quickly and cheaply than its competitors’ products. It employs 60 people and raised just €6 million prior to its sale, delivering a 20-fold return to shareholders when it was acquired by BD. TOM LYONS