Broad-Based Companies

Company Announcements

In March, Merck KgaA appointed Christina Shasserre, general manger of the Laboratory Business, as global head of Bioscience. She is based at EMD Chemicals’ Bioscience site in San Diego, California, where all of EMD’s core US Bioscience capabilities will be consolidated by year end.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, Biotechnology-related Business revenue for Hitachi High-Technologies declined 8% to ¥19.6 billion ($195 million). Fiscal 2010 sales are estimated to grow 12% to ¥21.9 billion ($218 million). The Business includes sales of capillary electrophoresis–based DNA sequencers and HPLCs.

On April 1, Hitachi High-Technologies changed the name of its Life Science Business Group to the Analytical Sciences Business Group. Businesses that sell electron microscopes have been transferred to the Analytical Systems Sales Division of the Group.

In April, Beckman Coulter acquired Clinical Data’s Cogenics division, which provides genomics services, for $17.0 million.

On April 1, PerkinElmer opened a service training academy and logistics center in Mumbai, India. PerkinElmer India currently employs 170 people.

Oxford Instruments named Jock Fyfe Lennox, a senior partner at Ernst & Young, to its Board on April 1.

Millipore in partnership with the University of Massachusetts in Lowell opened the Millipore Corporation Process Development Laboratory in April. Millipore donated over $225,000 in equipment and services to the lab, which will be used for downstream purification research and training.

Ocimum Biosciences founder Anuradha Acharya told Reuters India that the firm posted revenues of $15 million in 2008 and expects revenues close to $25 million this year.

GE stated in its first-quarter conference call that Life Science sales grew 5%.

ICx Technologies promoted Colin Cumming, CTO and president of the Detection business unit, to CEO in April. He replaces Hans Kobler, who continues to serve as executive chairman and focuses on strategic growth initiatives.

First-quarter revenues for Roche Applied Sciences grew 6% to CHF 196 million ($170.4 million) to make up 8% of Roche Diagnostics sales. Sequencing sales grew 41%, Research sales were flat, Industrial sales fell 14% and Other sales rose 55%. Sales of sample preparation and real time qPCR systems increased 4%. Sales in North America and Europe/Middle East/Africa rose 2% and 12%, respectively, while rest of world sales declined 1% to make up 39%, 43% and 18% of sales, respectively.

Shimadzu named Akira Nakamoto president and CEO in April. He was formerly senior managing director.

Teledyne Tekmar named JJ Wilbur as its sales representative for the Northeastern US.

In April, PerkinElmer appointed President and CEO Robert F. Friel as chairman.

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