NEW YORK, Sept. 3 - Sequenom today said it has closed its acquisition of Axiom Biotechnologies.
Sequenom announced on Aug. 21 its plans to acquire the privately held company, which has been targeted to help Sequenom's nascent pharma division build some internal biology, assay, and drug-discovery muscle.
Axiom, based in Sequenom's home port of San Diego, employs 25 people and has expertise in the study of human cell lines and cell-based assay technologies. The acquisition is intended to accelerate by as much as two years Sequenom's own tender foothold in the drug-discovery arena.
"The acquisition of Axiom is a strategic fit for the long-term development of our pharmaceutical unit," said Toni Schuh, president and CEO of Sequenom. It "rapidly enables us to move our discoveries forward by adding internal assay and screening abilities, key technologies, a library of well characterized human cell lines, expertise and intellectual property."