NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Italian pharmaceutical and diagnostics firm the Menarini Group has acquired Bologna-based Silicon Biosystems for an undisclosed sum, the firms announced today.
Silicon Biosystems has commercialized a microelectronic array-based platform, called DEPArray, that can isolate and manipulate cells, including rare cells such as stem cells and circulating tumor cells, in a suspension matrix.
Lucia Aleotti, chairman of the Menarini Group, said that the acquisition of Silicon Biosystems adds an "innovative high-tech company" to its existing programs in oncology.
As part of the Menarini Group, Silicon Biosystems will continue to operate as a standalone entity, the firms said, but will also have access to the "support and resources needed" to develop its technology and expand into clinical markets.
Founded in 1999, Silicon Biosystems expanded to the US in 2010 when it opened a subsidiary in San Diego. The company has since announced partnerships with Fox Chase Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, and PGXL Technologies.