NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – LGC said today that it has acquired BioAutomation, which manufactures the MerMade line of oligonucleotide synthesis instruments.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
BioAutomatic was founded in 1999 and employs 17 people at its facility in Irving, Texas. Its MerMade products include eight instruments that can synthesize four to 192 oligos simultaneously at scale ranges from 50 nmol to 200 umol, according to LGC. It also distributes consumables used during the synthesis process.
"The acquisition will allow us to provide our oligonucleotide reagent customers a complete and fully-supported oligo synthesis solution, as well as helping to drive advancements in automation for all aspects of our oligo manufacturing processes," Brian Kim, president and managing director of LGC's genomics division, said in a statement.
London-based LGC has been expanding its presence in the nucleic acid chemistry market recently through a series of acquisitions, including its buyouts of Biosearch Technologies in 2015, Prime Synthesis in 2016, and Link Technologies in 2017.
LGC also acquired Lucigen earlier this year, expanding its footprint in next-generation sequencing and gene editing.