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In Brief This Week: Bruker; Abbott; Becton Dickinson; Sigma-Aldrich; DNA Genotech; Almac Group; Genomnia

By a GenomeWeb staff reporter

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Bruker this week said that it has amended the terms of a credit agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, under which the maturity date of its revolving line of credit has been extended to May 24, 2016, and the amount available under the credit facility has been expanded to $250 million. As of May 24, 2011, Bruker had outstanding borrowings under the facility of roughly $185.5 million, while the outstanding principal amount under the term loan facility totaled $105 million.


Abbott has received the CE Mark in the European Union for its real-time PCR molecular diagnostic test for cytomegalovirus DNA quantitation in human plasma or whole blood. The test runs on the Abbott m2000 molecular diagnostics system.


The board of directors of Becton Dickinson this week declared a quarterly dividend of $.41 per common share. The dividend is payable on June 30 to holders of record on June 9.


Sigma-Aldrich this week acquired specialty chemicals distributor Vetec Quimica Fina. It expects the Brazilian firm to strengthen its position in Latin America. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.


DNA Genotek said this week that its Oragene DNA collection product has been selected by the International Collaboration on ADHD and Substance Abuse study. The study is being conducted in the US, Australia, and eight European countries.


The Almac Group has opened its new North American Headquarters in Souderton, Penn. The $120 million, 240,000-square-foot facility houses more than 800 employees.


Italian sequencing services firm Genomnia has awarded two "minigrants" to researchers in Italy. Marina Noris of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research and Maria Cristina Rosatelli of the University of Cagliari each will receive from Genomnia four free runs of sequencing on the Life Technologies SOLiD 4 system and bioinformatics analysis. Noris is studying the genetic causes of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis through whole-exome sequencing, and Rosatelli aims to identify through whole-exome sequencing new determinants responsible for beta-thalassemia that do not lie in the beta globin gene cluster.