Company Announcements

Fiscal first quarter sales for Brooks Automation’s Life Science Systems (LSS) segment grew 25.2% to $20.9 million (see IBO 2/29/16) to account for 17% of company sales. The acquisition of BioStorage (see IBO 11/15/15) added 39.0% to revenue growth, but was partially offset by currency headwinds of 2.4%. Organic LSS sales declined 11.4% due to lower placements of large storage systems. Segment adjusted operating loss widened 1.3% to $4.2 million.

For the fiscal second quarter ending March 31, sales for Brooks Automation’s Life Science Systems (LSS) segment jumped 51.1% to $26.5 million (see IBO 4/30/16)to account for 20% of company sales. However, excluding the acquisition of BioStorage, which added 65.1%, and currency headwinds of 2.9%, organic sales contracted 11.2%. The BioStorage business benefited from strong demand from biopharmaceutical and research customers in the US. LSS operating loss was cut in half to $1.9 million following the acquisition and is expected to breakeven by the fiscal third quarter.

In May, HighRes Biosolutions and Titian Software announced the linkage of their respective Mosaic sample management software and Cellario automation system control software. Titian’s new Cellario Fulfillment Mode interfaces with HighRes’s Cellario Order Broker to simplify the sample preparation process in compound management.

In April, distributor and service provider Wagner Medizin-und Pharmatechnik (WMPT) acquired rights to the shares of Redd & Whyte (RW), a liquid handling technology company, as part of a multiyear strategic partnership agreement. WMPT assumed responsibility for all customer facing activities. RW continues development work on its new nano-valves and dispensing modules.

In May, MIDSCI partnered with PerkinElmer to exclusively offer PerkinElmer’s Victor multimode plate readers.

In June, HighRes Biosolutions broke ground on a new 80,000 ft2 headquarters in Beverly, Massachusetts. All operations will be relocated there from Woburn. The space will be able to accommodate at least double the number of current staff. According to beverly.wickedlocal.com, the company currently has 115 employees in Woburn, and it has budgeted for 50 new hires in 2016.

BioTek Instruments announced in July a dedicated sales and support operation in Canada.

Product Introductions

In May, Analytik Jena announced the release of the qTOWER3 auto real time PCR system for fully automated PCR, which is designed for integration into robotics systems. It includes the CyBi-Carry robotic module that can also be attached to third-party products.

In June, Berthold Technologies announced the addition of TR-FRET functionality to its TriStar2 S multimode plate reader.