Thermo Fisher Scientific said last week that it has completed its acquisition of Finnish PCR products provider Finnzymes.
Thermo Fisher first announced the acquisition in early February. At the time, a Thermo official said that the acquisition was expected to bolster Thermo's PCR product portfolio, in particular by providing the company with its first PCR instrument platform.
Thermo also said that Finnzymes may provide it with a toehold in the burgeoning PCR-based molecular diagnostics market.
Financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed. Thermo previously said that the acquisition was not expected to impact its 2010 financial results.
Finnzymes, based in Espoo, has 90 employees and generated revenues of $20 million in 2009. It is unclear whether Thermo plans to retain Finnzymes' facilities in Espoo. Thermo did not respond to requests for comment.
Finnzymes manufactures the Phire and Phusion brand of DNA polymerases. The Phusion DNA polymerases are used in kits for amplifying DNA from whole blood and for bacterial profiling, while the Phire polymerases are used in kits to amplify DNA directly from a wide variety of animal and plant tissues.
Finnzymes claims that the polymerases outperform Taq-based polymerases in terms of speed and fidelity and are ideal for both routine and high-throughput PCR applications.
In addition, Finnzymes markets the Piko brand thermal cyclers. Available in 24- and 96-well formats, the Piko platform is about half the size of conventional thermal cyclers, yet the company claims they can complete a PCR protocol in as little as 10 minutes, which rivals or betters many other competing thermal cyclers.