NEW YORK, May 16 (GenomeWeb News) - Invitrogen will acquire Caltag Laboratories, a manufacturer of immunological reagents, for $20 million in cash, the company said today.
Caltag, based in Burlingame, Calif., makes antibodies and reagents for flow cytometry applications, including tandem dyes for multi-color flow cytometry. In addition to research tools, the company has developed technologies for diagnostics. Fifteen of its products are FDA-approved class II in vitro diagnostic devices. The company's German subsidiary offers more than 200 antibodies approved for diagnostic sales in the European Union.
Invitrogen, which acquired antibody maker Zymed Laboratories earlier this year, believes Caltag will complement its proteomics technologies. "Caltag's strength in supporting flow cytometry work is a natural fit for this goal through its synergies with Invitrogen's upstream proteomics technologies," said Cheri Walker, Invitrogen's vice president of proteomics, in a company statement.
Caltag's USstaff of about 50 will remain in the San Franciscoarea as part of Invitrogen's Antibody Center of Excellence. The acquisition is scheduled to close by the end of June, and Caltag is expected to have approximately $10 million in sales in the following year.