NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Bio-Rad Laboratories today said that it has acquired digital PCR systems maker QuantaLife for $162 million in cash plus potential future milestone payments.
Pleasanton, Calif.-based QuantaLife sells the Droplet Digital (ddPCR) system, which is a high-resolution platform for validating next-generation sequencing discoveries. The platform can be used for detecting rare mutations, precise measurement of copy number variation, absolute quantification of gene expression, and for molecular diagnostic applications.
"This elegant solution expands the current state of the art methods of quantitative PCR, and we look forward to its adoption in life science research," Bio-Rad President and CEO Norman Schwartz said in a statement.
QuantaLife began commercial sales of the ddPCR system this past summer. The technology competes with digital PCR offerings sold by Life Technologies, RainDance Technologies, and Fluidigm.
Less than a year ago, QuantaLife raised $17.2 million a Series B financing round.