Company Announcements

In January, HORIBA Jobin Yvon merged with its subsidiary, HORIBA FRANCE, and will now be known as HORIBA FRANCE.

Fiscal first quarter, ending December 31, 2016, revenue for Becton, Dickinson’s BD Biosciences unit declined 2.2%, or 1.7% excluding currency, to $270 million to make up 9% of company revenues (see IBO 2/15/17). This decline was attributed to lower sales outside the US, primarily due to a strong comparison in China and continued challenges in the clinical HIV business in Africa. However, segment sales in the US improved, driven by demand for bioprocessing products, as well as research systems and reagents.

In a February SEC filing, Fluidigm announced that Board member John A. Young intends to resign from the Board. He is the retired president and CEO of the former Hewlett-Packard.

Bio-Rad Laboratories disclosed in February that it purchased RainDance Technologies (see IBO 1/31/17) for $87 million plus certain assumed net liabilities.

bioMérieux’s 2016 Industrial Applications revenue rose 4.7%, 6.6% in constant exchange rates, to €379.9 million ($422.1 million).

In March, Thermo Fisher Scientific named Dion Weisler, president and CEO of HP, to its Board, bringing the total number of Board members to 12.

Thermo Fisher Scientific announced in March that it has joined the ICE MEMORY initiative, a global effort led by the Fondation Université Grenoble Alpes with patronage from the French and Italian National Commissions for United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), created to protect the memory of the past held within mountain glaciers. Thermo Fisher will donate analytical technologies to the effort.

In March, Thermo Fisher Scientific announced a collaboration with the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult to provide cell and gene therapy developers with manufacturing capability and distribution, and logistics and storage capacity to create a seamless supply chain. Fisher BioServices will expand its CryoHub solution by colocating it with Catapult’s new large-scale cell and gene therapy manufacturing center based in Stevenage, UK, due for completion in summer 2017.

Shimadzu Europe announced in March the launch of its Shimadzu European Innovation Center, calling it “an innovations-oriented think tank” and utilizing a decentralized structure. The Center focuses on clinical applications, imaging technology, food and composites.  Other Shimadzu Innovation Centers are located in Maryland, US, Singapore and Beijing, China.

In March, AMETEK appointed Thomas Amato to its Board. He serves as president and CEO of TriMas, a diversified, global manufacturer of engineered products.

Sartorius announced in March the appointment of Gerry MacKay as executive vice president of Marketing, Sales and Services for its Lab Products & Services Division. He joined the company through the acquisition of BioOutsource (see IBO 4/30/15).

Full-year 2016 Harvard Bioscience sales contracted 3.8%, 1.5% organically, to $104.5 million (see Bottom Line). Currency and the divestment of AHN (see IBO 11/15/16) reduced sales growth by 2.0% and 0.3%, respectively. The organic decline was attributed to weakness in Europe, where sales declined 14% including currency. As a result of slower-than-expected NIH funding, US sales were roughly flat to account for approximately 50% of revenues. Conversely, sales climbed 14% in China, driven by demand for electroporation products. Adjusted operating margin slipped 31 basis points to 3.1%. The company projected 2017 sales to be flat or slightly lower organically.

In March, LECO announced that it will begin construction on a 64,000 ft² (5,946 m²) applications lab and customer demonstration facility, across the street from its headquarters in Saint Joseph, Michigan. Construction is expected to be completed in late 2018. Michigan Construction News reports that the company anticipates spending $19 million on the new facility.

Roper Technologies announced in March that Robert Crisci, currently vice president, Finance and Investor Relations, will succeed John Humphrey, who is retiring this year, as CFO.

In a March SEC filing, Waters disclosed that Joshua Bekenstein plans to resign as a Board member, effective immediately. He is managing director of Bain Capital.

Agilent Technologies elected Koh Boon Hwee as chariman in March, replacing James G. Cullen. Mr. Hwee is managing direct of private equity fund Credence Capital Fund II (Cayman).

In March, Agilent Technologies appointed Samraat “Sam” Raha as senior vice president of Strategy and Corporate Development. Most recently, he served as vice president of Global Marketing at Illumina.

In March, Spectris named Karim Bitar to its Board. He currently serves as CEO of agricultural biotechnology firm Genus.

Techcomp’s full-year 2016 sales grew 6.5% to $183.0 million (see Bottom Line). Distribution and Manufacturing revenue advanced 8.1% and 3.6% to account for 65% and 35% of sales, respectively. Sales in China (including Hong Kong & Macau) and other Asian regions climbed 12.6% and 21.3% to make up 74% and 9% of revenues. European sales improved 3.5%, while sales in Others contracted 53.9% to represent 13% and 4% of revenues, respectively. Adjusted operating profit fell 170 basis points to 1.2%.

For the full-year 2016, FOSS reported that sales climbed 5.6%, 8.1% organically, to DKK 2.12 billion ($315.3 million) (see Bottom Line). Growth was driven by strong demand for food testing products, including increased adoption for ketosis screening. Adjusted operating margin soared 450 percentage points to 23.4%.

In March, Fluidigm appointed Nicolas Barthelemy and Dr. Carolos Paya to its Board. Mr. Barthelemy most recently served as president and CEO of Biotheranostics. Dr. Paya is president, CEO and director of Immune Design. With the appointments, the Board’s size increased from 6 to 8 members.

Analytik Jena announced in March that founder and CEO Klaus Berka stepped down, joining the Supervisory Board.

Product Introduction 

In January, MilliporeSigma launched the CAN Multiflow screening services to more accurately predict genotoxic and “mode of action” properties of substances, ingredients and drug compounds. It is offered through the company’s BioReliance testing facilities. The screening process uses flow cytometry. The CAN Multiflow assay analyzes multiple biomarkers associated with DNA damage in a single high-throughput assay. It is based on the MultiFlow kit from Litron Laboratories. MilliporeSigma is the only provider of such a service in the US.