In a new periodic feature, IBO highlights major funding announcements and initiatives that indicate opportunities for instrument and laboratory product makers. Samsung announced in May the formation of the Samsung Future Technology Promotion Foundation, which will invest KRW 1.5 trillion ($900 million = KRW 1.11 =$1) over 10 years in R&D. The Foundation plans to […]

Company Announcements Microfluidics firm Hurel closed a $9.2 million Series A private equity financing facility in April. In April, Aushon BioSystems named Susan Vogt CEO, replacing founder Peter Honkanen, who assumed the role of COO. Most recently, Ms. Vogt was president and CEO of SeraCare. IntegenX named Robert A. Schueren CEO in April. Most recently, […]

The market for laser absorption spectroscopy (LAS) techniques continues to mature. Such techniques, notably tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) and cavity ring down spectroscopy (CRDS), have found commercial success for monitoring trace amounts of gases in industrial applications and for environmental monitoring. The maturing of the market is evident in the recent acquisitions of […]

Madison, WI 7/24/13; Madison, WI 7/30/13—Cellular Dynamics International, a developer and manufacturer of fully functioning human cells in industrial quantities to precise specifications, has completed its IPO (see IBO 6/15/13, 7/15/13). The company offered 3,846,000 shares of common stock at a price of $12 per share, raising approximately $43 million after deducting underwriting discounts and […]

Chelmsford, MA 7/23/13—Brooks Automation has agreed to acquire the assets and business of Matrical for $10 million in cash. Matrical provides biological sample preparation, management and storage solutions for agbio, biotechnology, life science tools and pharmaceutical markets. “We are enthusiastic about welcoming the founders and employees of Matrical to Brooks and foresee them making a […]

San Diego, CA 7/23/13—Illumina has acquired Advanced Liquid Logic (ALL) for an undisclosed amount. ALL provides “digital microfluidics” technology based on electrowetting that precisely manipulates small droplets with sealed disposable cartridges to perform complex lab protocols. “For our research customers, ALL’s technology will further streamline the industry’s simplest NGS [next generation sequencing] workflow, while for […]

San Diego, CA 7/31/13; Washington, DC 7/31/13—Accelrys has announced that it will reduce its workforce by approximately 80 employees, or 12%, as part of a restructuring program to reduce costs and realign operations to focus on growth opportunities. The program includes the abandonment of a portion of one of the company’s facilities in San Ramon, […]

Company Announcements INFICON’s first quarter Emergency Response & Security sales fell 35.5% to $5.5 million to make up 8% of company sales due to low shipments to Asia. In June, IonSense and Cerno Bioscience announced the integration of their respective DART GSX system and MassWorks software. The companies will comarket the product. Under an OEM […]