Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

Life Technologies Completes BioTrove Acquisition

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Life Technologies has completed its acquisition of BioTrove for an undisclosed sum.

Life Technologies said that it does not expect the transaction to have a material effect on its financials for the current fiscal year.

The acquisition gives Life Technologies a high-throughput gene expression and genotyping system, the OpenArray, that will complement the company's next-generation sequencing and PCR portfolio by enabling researchers to validate samples against large target panels.

The firms initially announced the deal last month. At that time, BioTrove said that it plans to form a subsidiary for its RapidFire business, which markets technologies for use in handling samples for mass spectrometry applications in drug development. Following completion of the merger with Life Technologies, that business, which has been named Biocius Life Sciences, will be spun out as an independent operator.

Privately held BioTrove had filed for an initial public offering in early 2008, but it withdrew the offering late last year amid the stock market meltdown.

At the time of the acquisition announcement, the firms did not disclose BioTrove's current revenues. However, the most recent available financial figures for BioTrove show that the firm had first-half 2008 revenues of $4.6 million, a 64 percent increase year over year.

The Scan

Positive Framing of Genetic Studies Can Spark Mistrust Among Underrepresented Groups

Researchers in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances report that how researchers describe genomic studies may alienate potential participants.

Small Study of Gene Editing to Treat Sickle Cell Disease

In a Novartis-sponsored study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that a CRISPR-Cas9-based treatment targeting promoters of genes encoding fetal hemoglobin could reduce disease symptoms.

Gut Microbiome Changes Appear in Infants Before They Develop Eczema, Study Finds

Researchers report in mSystems that infants experienced an enrichment in Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Finegoldia and a depletion of Bacteroides before developing eczema.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment Specificity Enhanced With Stem Cell Editing

A study in Nature suggests epitope editing in donor stem cells prior to bone marrow transplants can stave off toxicity when targeting acute myeloid leukemia with immunotherapy.