NEW YORK – Bio-Techne said on Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire single-cell sorting and dispensing firm Namocell.
Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of Bio-Techne’s fiscal year 2023.
Namocell, founded in 2014 and based in Mountain View, California, currently offers multiple instruments, including Pala, a two-laser system with up to 11 fluorescent detection channels, and Hana, a single-laser system with two fluorescent detection channels. The platforms both use Namocell's proprietary technology, which combines microfluidics, flow cytometry, and liquid dispensing, to deliver single cells from samples to plates. So far, the firm has installed nearly 200 instruments, Bio-Techne said.
The acquisition will complement Bio-Techne's cell and gene therapy business, and the firm anticipates "significant commercial synergies as we leverage our existing analytical tools sales force to penetrate this market opportunity," Bio-Techne President and CEO Chuck Kummeth said in a statement.
"Emerging technologies in cell-based research as well as next-generation therapeutics have created a need for fast, reliable, easy-to-use, and gentle cell sorting," he added. "Namocell's instruments offer unparalleled performance advantages over traditional flow cytometry and manual techniques and we anticipate continued traction with its leading portfolio of cell sorting technologies."
Namocell CEO Junyu Lin said in a statement that "Bio-Techne's global reach and strategic deployment in cell and gene therapy will enable Namocell to accelerate its penetration into the global markets, particularly in cell engineering and cell therapy applications, our biggest and fastest growing sectors."