Bio-Rad to Buy Ciphergen's Proteomics Business for $20M, Takes Equity Stake

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Bio-Rad Laboratories has agreed to purchase Ciphergen’s proteomics instrument business for approximately $20 million in cash, Ciphergen said yesterday. Bio-Rad is also making a $3 million equity investment in Ciphergen.

 

Bio-Rad will be acquiring Ciphergen’s proteomics products including its SELDI (surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization) technology, ProteinChip arrays, and accompanying software. Bio-Rad will manufacture, sell, and market the SELDI technology to the life sciences marketplace for applications such as biomarker discovery, characterization, and validation.

 

Ciphergen said that it will retain exclusive rights to the products for the diagnostics market, and that it will maintain a supply agreement with Bio-Rad to purchase SELDI instruments and consumables for the continued development of its diagnostics business. The companies will also collaborate to identify SELDI customers interested in partnering with Ciphergen to commercialize biomarker discoveries, Ciphergen said.

 

Following the transaction, which is expected to be approved by Ciphergen stockholders in the fourth quarter, Ciphergen will have about 40 employees dedicated to commercializing diagnostic tests, primarily in oncology, with an initial focus on ovarian and prostate cancers.

 

Last year, Ciphergen entered a three-year strategic alliance with Quest Diagnostics to develop and commercialize proteomic diagnostic tests, including the first for ovarian cancer. Quest purchased a 17-percent stake in the company as part of the agreement.