NEW YORK, May 28 - Epoch Biosciences of Bothell, Wash., today announced the sale of its specialty oligonucleotide business to Liege, Belgium-based Eurogentec.
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The sale, for $1.4 million in cash, is expected to close May 30. Epoch will transfer its customer base, manufacturing equipment, and inventory to Eurogentec and the two companies will include North America in an existing supply agreement that allows Eurogentec to sell custom oligonucleotides that include Epoch dyes and non-fluorescent quenchers.
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Epoch said that the sale will allow it to focus on its MGB Eclipse probe systems business and will help the company enter the diagnostics market later this year. The company will record a loss of $3 million on the transaction, taking a non-cash write-off for inventory, equipment, and other assets.
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Epoch purchased the business, known as Synthetic Genetics, a division of Immune Complex Corp., in November 2000 for $2.6 million to provide manufacturing capacity for the TaqMan MGB probe products marketed by Applied Biosystems.