NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Microarrays Inc.'s management team and a group of independent investors have purchased the company from Vanderbilt University for an undisclosed amount, the firm announced today.
The new corporate structure will allow Microarrays to "quickly and nimbly" respond to the growing needs of customers, especially in the diagnostics and healthcare markets, the company said in a statement.
Microarrays was originally part of the microarray core facility at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Comprehensive Cancer Center in Nashville, Tenn., which was founded in 1999 to provide microarray services to the university's researchers. In 2000, Microarrays was established as an autonomous company through the Office of Enterprise Development at Vanderbilt University, in response to the growing expertise, proficiency, and manufacturing innovations developed at the cancer center, Microarrays said.
Since then, the company has grown from a DNA-based research tools manufacturer to a "full spectrum DNA, protein, and diagnostic applications company," it said, and two years ago, it became part of the collaborative HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Ala., to support the company's growth and innovation.
Hudson Alpha develops tools for the life-sciences field with a focus on personalized medicine.
Microarrays will remain headquartered at HudsonAlpha, a company spokeswoman said.
Microarrays CEO Joel Peek said in a statement that Vanderbilt University has acted as a "wonderful steward" for the company, but as the company "enters a new era of product development, innovation, and commercialization, we felt it was right to strike out on our own.
"Under the auspices of the HudsonAlpha Institute, [Microarrays] has a unique opportunity to collaborate with world-class researchers and like-minded biotechnology companies who will help accelerate both the development and market entry of our products," he said.