Company Announcements

In its fiscal second-quarter 2012 conference call, Becton Dickinson said that it paid $205 million to buy Accuri Cytometers (see IBO 2/15/11). Accuri is expected to contribute approximately one percentage point to BD Biosciences revenue in fiscal 2012 and approximately one to two percentage points annually over the next three years.

In March, Molecular Devices agreed to distribute ChanTest’s ion channel and GPCR cell lines and to promote the company’s cell-optimization services.

In April, Shrink Nanotechnologies, a development-stage firm, executed a binding letter of intent to acquire Nanopoint. Nanopoint provides live cell–imaging solutions based on microcapillary flow technology.

In May, Molecular Devices announced it will distribute De Novo Software’s FCS Express 4 image cytometry software to its customers in the research and pharmaceutical markets. The software is compatible with Molecular Devices’ ImageXpress Velos Cytometer.

Product Introductions

In April, ORFLO Technologies introduced the portable Moxi Z mini cell counter, which combines the Coulter Principle and a thin film sensor technology to provide cell size, cell count and cell viability information.

Miltenyi Biotech launched the compact MACSQuant VYB flow cytometer, which features violet, yellow and blue lasers and can detect ten optical parameters.

ICyt Mission Technology, a Sony subsidiary, released the Brilliant Violet 421 products, which are a line of 405 nm–excited fluorochrome-conjugated antibodies for flow cytometry. They are based on a novel polymer-based fluorophore technology and are optimized for iCyt’s Synergy cell sorter.

IntelliCyt introduced its first suite of assay kits, consisting of four kits that focus on apoptosis screening.

In May, Amnis introduced the FlowSight imaging flow cytometer, a compact and affordable 12-channel flow cytometer, which can be configured with up to four lasers. It provides an image of every cell.

Solentim launched the Cell Metric system for the high-throughput screening of colonies from single cell–cloning experiments, featuring imaging of the whole well, right up to the edge. It provides real-time metrics on the cell number, confluence or density, and colony count and variations in cell morphology.

BellBrook Labs released the iuvo 3D ICC Slide, a microculture slide that enables immunocytochemistry in native biological extracellular matrices. The microchannel slide can be analyzed via microscopic imaging or high-content instrumentation.

In May, BD Biosciences introduced the BD FACSVerse Flow Cytometer, a scalable system that can analyze up to ten parameters. Features include automation of routine tasks and a vacuum-based fluidic subsystem. It is available in four-, six- and eight-color configurations.