NEW YORK, Nov. 27 - German lab-equipment giant Eppendorf has found a new home for its young microarray subsidiary, the company said today.
Eppendorf Array Technology's new digs are in Namur, a small town about an hour south of Brussels, Belgium. The space employs 25 people, most of whom are researchers, said Jörn Peplow, a spokesman for Eppendorf.
The town surroundings will be familiar to most of EAT's staff: The unit began life as a spin-off of the University of Namur. In July, Eppendorf acquired a majority interest in the young company, which at the time was called Advanced Array Technology, in order to gain a foothold in the microarray market.
In recent months, EAT researchers have been using the company's labeling technology in more than 20 projects ranging from gene expression, transcription factors, and protein chips, according to Hamburg-based Eppendorf.
The company expects EAT to launch its first product lines of low-density microarray chips, scanners, and reagents in the first half of next year, said Peplow. He said the line will be "continuously expanded."