NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – NextGen Sciences has spun off its “gene to protein’ automation and software business to a management-led buyout group called eXeTek Ltd.
Ann Arbor, Mich.-based NextGen said that the divestiture is in line with its previously announced plans to either sell or wind down the automation and software business and focus its resources on growing its protein biomarker services business. The firm’s biomarker discovery and assay development service, called biomarkerexpress, was launched in November 2007.
The firm said that eXeTek will continue to support the existing installed base of automation and software products. As part of the deal, NextGen exclusively licensed the expressionfactory, expressworkstation, and orchestratorIMS software to eXeTek. NextGen also acquired a 24 percent stake in the startup and will receive a 5 percent royalty on sales of the products for three years.
Further terms of the deal were not disclosed.