Company Announcements

Avacta appointed Cosmo Bio as a Japanese distributor of custom Affimer services and catalog-reagent sales.

In July, Phenomenex announced the spin-off of Neoteryx, which will provide Volumetric Absorptive Microsampling technology for the collection, handling and analysis of biological fluids. The first product, the Mitra Microsampling Device, collects 10 µL of fluid in seconds without volumetric blood hematocrit bias.

International Stem Cell’s Lifeline Cell Technology subsidiary added distributors in Asia and Oceania.

Meridian Bioscience named Dwight E. Ellingwood to its Board in July. He is leading the Collective Impact on Health at the Health Collaborative in Cincinnati.

In July, Cellectis sold its Swedish subsidiary to Takara Bio. The subsidiary was part of the company’s Tools and Services Business Unit, which recorded an adjusted operating loss of €14 million ($19 million) in 2013. The sale completes the restructuring of the business unit.

SAGE Labs licensed CRISPR/Cas9 technology from the Broad Institute. SAGE also obtained a license for the technology from Caribou Biosciences in September 2013.

In August, Kapa Biosystems signed a new three-year exclusive distribution agreement with Nippon Genetics, extending the companies’ seven-year relationship.

Organovo named Gregory T. Lucier, former chairman and CEO of Life Technologies, as a corporate advisor.

Product Introductions

In July, Celsion began sales of reagent products based on its newly acquired TheraPlas and TheraSilence nucleic acid–transfection reagents.

Promega introduced in June the IdeS Protease and Human and Yeast Protein Extracts for MS sample preparation.

BellBrook Labs launched a new Transcreener GDP Assay with TR-FRET readout designed specifically for high-throughput screening.

Gen9 introduced the GeneByte Plus DNA constructs, synthesized at lengths of 3,000–10,000 base pairs.

Gen9 released its Variant Libraries products, which allow customers to test virtually any number of DNA variant combinations and examine structure-function relationships.

EMD Millipore launched the Magna Nuclear RNA-binding Protein Immunoprecipitation kits, designed to allow the discovery and analysis of both coding and noncoding chromatin-associated RNAs. Two versions are available.

In August, PerkinElmer introduced the CellCarrier Ultra 384-well microplates, designed specifically for high-content screening.

Diagenode launched what it called the industry’s first monoclonal antibody targeting CRISPR/Cas9.