Life Technologies Invests in Synthetic Biology
At its analyst presentation this month, Life Technologies COO Mark Stephenson said the company plans to build an industry-leading franchise around synthetic biology. According to an SEC filing, Life Technologies made a $10 million equity investment in Synthetic Genomics. (For GENEART’s first-quarter results, see page 12.)
Carlsbard, CA 5/28/10; Regensburg, Germany 5/28/10; Carlsbad, CA 6/2/10—Following the completion of its tender offer, Life Technologies has acquired a 74% stake in GENEART AG, a producer of synthetic genes (see IBO 4/30/10). “Through Life Technologies, GENEART will be able to materially expand its impact through enhanced distribution and commercial capabilities in the United States, scale in procurement and access to research and development capital,” stated Professor Dr. Ralf Wagner, CEO and CSO of GENART. The voluntary public tender offer was initiated on April 13 and closed on May 25. Life Technologies does not expect the transactions to have a material effect on its business in 2010. Life Technologies has also announced that it has made an equity investment in Synthetic Genomics, a company founded by Dr. J. Craig Venter and Hamilton Smith to commercialize synthetic genomic advances.
