MERIDEN, Conn.--Packard BioScience here said it has acquired BioSignal, a Montreal-based biotechnology research firm. Packard paid approximately $8.5 million for the interest in the company that it did not already own. Packard said it plans to unite BioSignal's gene cloning expertise with the advanced biochip technology that Packard, Motorola, and Argonne National Laboratory recently announced they will develop jointly. Packard said it will be able to incorporate validated drug targets into high-throughput screening platforms for pharmaceutical and biotechnology research.