Thomas Weisel Partners

Thomas Weisel Partners called Thermo Fisher's planned $260 million acquisition of Fermentas a "synergistic tuck-in deal" that "bolsters Thermo's capabilities in the high-growth PCR market."

A Thomas Weisel Partners report found that some researchers do not plan to use the stimulus cash to buy equipment, such as mass specs. Rather, a majority said they would use the cash to hire additional personnel.

Citing the FDA's handling of KRAS testing for anti-EGFR monoclonal antibodies, the report asserts that in the near term complex genetic tests such as Oncotype DX should be "performed through CLIA labs, and not held up by slow regulatory processes."

Millipore is betting that the buy, which is expected to close in the next several weeks, will provide its customers a powerful cell biology/protein expression-analysis tool for the benchtop.

Affy aims to target downstream genomic-analysis markets with the products gained through its acquisitions of Panomics and True Materials last year, roll out new genotyping assays on its GeneTitan array platform, and consolidate its manufacturing facilities.