Company Announcements

Millipore named Dr. Robert S. Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor at MIT, to its Board. He replaces Dr. Daniel Bellus.

PerkinElmer OneSource, which provides an integrated service suit, and VWR are developing a joint offering for multivendor maintenance and qualification services.

PerkinElmer’s Chief Administrative Officer Richard F. Walsh announced he will retire in March.

Life Technologies entered into a strategic alliance with SG Biofuels in January to advance the development of Jatropha as a sustainable biofuel.

Bruker appointed Urban Faeh as president of the Bruker Optics division in January. He will also serve as managing director of Bruker Optik GmbH. He was previously regional sales manager for Italy, Spain, Portugal, France and the UK.

MDS Analytical Technologies’ revenues for fiscal 2009 ended October 31, 2009 declined 17.8% to $359 million. Operating loss was $20 million, compared to a loss of $13 million for fiscal 2008 (see IBO 1/31/10). Bioresearch and drug discovery sales fell 19%, and MS revenue declined 1%. Total end-user revenue was down 11%. Revenue related to the sale of products and services to the AB/MDS and PKI/Sciex joint ventures declined 26.2% to $110 million.

MOCON acquired a 16.9% interest in Luxcel Biosciences, a developer of phosphorescence-based sensors for biological testing, for $3.6 million. Luxcel will also supply MOCON with components.

In January, Halma acquired SphereOptics, a manufacturer and distributor of precision products for light metrology applications, for $2.5 million in cash and deferred purchase consideration. SphereOptics will be merged with Labsphere. In 2009, SphereOptics had revenues of $4.3 million.

GE Healthcare reported that Life Sciences revenue rose 11% in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Restek acquired Glastron, a manufacturer of specialized glassware and electronic components and a assembler of testing equipment, in January. Glastron will operate as a independent subsidiary.

Lonza Bioscience’s 2009 sales increased 4.1% to CHF 231 million ($211.9 million). Adjusted operating profit grew 36.8% to CHF 26 million ($23.9 million) In the Research Solutions segment (formerly Cell Discovery and Molecular Biology), sales for the BioAssays and the Protein Analysis portfolios grew in double digits, but transfection and chromatography sales were weak.

Sales/Orders of Note

The National Institutes of Health awarded Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Fisher BioServices business a contract to manage the National Children Study’s biological and environmental sample repository. Fisher BioServices manages more than 170 million samples globally, serving more than 300 commercial customers.