This article has been updated to clarify that the bankruptcy filing only applies to the Gene Logic subsidiary.
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Ocimum Biosolutions, doing business as Gene Logic, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and is seeking a buyer for its assets.
The US subsidiary filed for Chapter 11 in mid-October, and according to Jeffrey Carbino, a lawyer representing Ocimum in its bankruptcy proceedings, an auction of substantially all of the assets of Ocimum/Gene Logic, is scheduled for Jan. 6, 2012, with a Jan. 4 deadline for submitted bids. On Jan. 10, a sale hearing is scheduled in US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
The filing relates only to the Gene Logic subsidiary, not the parent company, the firm subsequently told GenomeWeb Daily News.
Today, Ocimum/Gene Logic announced the appointment of life sciences financial services firm Burrill & Co., to find "strategic alternatives related to Gene Logic and its assets." In that capacity, Burrill will identify bidders for Ocimum/Gene Logic's assets or, as an alternative, try to identify merger partners or investors for the firm, Carbino said.
"The goal is to have [Gene Logic] operating as it is now, doing the same kind of business and serving the same clients in the same fashion," he told GenomeWeb Daily News.
Based in Gaithersburg, Md., Gene Logic was acquired by Indian firm Ocimum Biosolutions in 2007 for $10 million. It operates as a division of the Indian parent firm and offers a range of genomics services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, as well as government and academic institutions. According to Ocimum/Gene Logic, it has the world's largest commercial gene expression databases.