NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Life Technologies said this week that it has opened up a 'Customer Experience Centre' in Russia in collaboration with one of its distributors, Khimexpert. The center is located in Moscow and is equipped with the firm's genetic, cellular, and molecular biology platforms and staff. The center also will offer seminars and instruction.
Separately this week, Life Tech said that was named the 2013 Life Sciences Tools & Services industry sector leader for the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. The leaders of the DJSI are "chosen from among the 3,000 largest companies worldwide based on a comprehensive assessment of long-term economic, environmental and social criteria including corporate governance, employee satisfaction, stakeholder engagement, and product innovation," said Life Tech.
Fitch Ratings affirmed its 'BBB-' Issuer default Rating for PerkinElmer this week. It said that the rating applied to roughly $966 million of consolidated debt outstanding as of June 30, and the rating outlook is stable.
Agilent Technologies said this week that it will pay a quarterly dividend of $.12 per share of common stock on Oct. 23 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Oct. 1.
Activiomics said this week that it has extended a contract research agreement with Kyowa Hakko Kirin. The firm will apply its TIQUAS (Targeted In-depth QUAntification of cell Signalling) phosphoproteomics platform to elucidate signalling mechanisms generated by lead compounds supplied by KHK in relevant cell-based systems, it said.
Cancer Genetics said that it has expanded its relationship with Roche Servicios, an affiliate of Roche, to develop workshops and training centers at hospitals and cancer centers throughout Central America and the Caribbean. Cancer Genetics inked a deal with the Roche company last year to identify patients who may best respond to oncology drugs in the region.
Abcodia announced that it has licensed worldwide, exclusive rights to the Risk of Ovarian Cancer Algorithm (ROCA) developed by Massachusetts General Hospital and Queen Mary, University of London. The ROCA test uses longitudinal measurements of the ovarian cancer protein marker CA125 combined with transvaginal ultrasound to enable early detection of the disease. As reported by ProteoMonitor last month, a longitudinal study of the algorithm in combination with transvaginal ultrasound demonstrated suitable specificity and positive predictive value for it to be used as an ovarian cancer screening test in post-menopausal women.
Gen9 said this week that it is accepting entries for its second annual G-Prize, which will provide the winner with 1 million base pairs of synthesized DNA. The contest is open to scientists at academic or public-benefit organization who are using synthetic DNA to advance projects in a variety of fields, including biofuels, chemical and enzyme production, pharmaceuticals, and data storage. The entry deadline for the prize is Nov. 1.
Selah Genomics said this week that it has licensed UniFlow, UniConnect's laboratory information management system, to manage molecular and clinical data for its clinical diagnostic services business.
Med BioGene announced that, effective Sept. 19, it had granted to certain directors and officers five-year incentive stock options to purchase an aggregate of 3,050,000 common shares at an exercise price of C$0.125 per share.
In Brief This Week is a Friday column containing news items that our readers may have missed during the week.