Third-quarter revenues for IBO’s Laboratory Instrument Sales Index grew 8.5% to $5,761.23 million, including 2.6% growth from currency. Operating profit improved 11.3% to $1,167.67 million, but operating margin slipped 100 basis points to 18.9% of sales. For the three companies (Analytik Jena, Spectris and Tecan) that did not report earnings before this issue’s publication, estimates […]

Gothenburg, Sweden 9/15/11; Paris, France 9/15/11; Paris, France 11/2/11; Paris, France 11/4/11—Publicly held genome-engineering firm Cellectis has acquired Sweden’s Cellartis for 1.93 million shares and €16.4 million ($ 22.5 million = €0.73 = $1) in cash. Cellartis is a provider of stem cell–derived products and technologies, including human embryonic stem cell–derived hepatocytes and cardiomyocytes used […]

Branford, CT and Tempe, AZ 10/11/11—Roche has agreed to license several technologies developed by Dr. Stuart Lindsay at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University and Dr. Colin Nuckolls of Columbia University Nanoscience Center. The technologies include specialized approaches for DNA base sensing and reading and will be used in Roche’s development of a single-molecule, […]

Abingdon, UK 11/4/11—Oxford Instruments has announced the acquisition of Platinum Medical Imaging for $18 million and an additional $37 million in deferred payments based on the business’s performance over three years. US-based Platinum Medical Imaging provides parts and services for MRI and computed tomography medical imaging instruments. The company’s 2010 revenues were $14.1 million, and […]

Hillsboro, OR 11/14/11—Electron microscopy company FEI has acquired TILL Photonics, a supplier of high-resolution, digital light microscopes and high-speed imaging systems for live-cell fluorescence microscopy, for €14.5 million ($19.9 million = €0.73 = $1) plus an earn out payable in two years based on milestones. In 2011, TILL is expected to have revenues of $8 […]

Wetzler, Germany and Delhi, India 11/14/11; Delhi, India 11/14/11—Leica Microsystems and AB SCIEX, two Danaher Life Sciences businesses, have announced acquisitions from Labindia Instruments, the companies’ Indian distributor. AB SCIEX has acquired Labindia Instruments’ MS business, including customer relationships, personnel and application support facilities. Labindia has distributed AB SCIEX’s MS systems in India for 15 […]

Held in Long Beach, California, from October 31 to November 4, was the BioProcess International, a conference and exhibit organized by IBC Life Sciences. Focused on biologics manufacturing, the presentations for each day were grouped according to four tracks and largely featured case studies. For example, on November 1, the day IBO attended the show, […]

Following a broad rebound in merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in 2010, consolidation among analytical instrument and laboratory product–related companies continued at a prevalent pace this past year. Danaher, Thermo Fisher Scientific and PerkinElmer highlighted this year’s M&A market, together spending roughly $10 billion on pure-play acquisitions, of which roughly half were financed through new […]

The number of EU food safety notifications grew 7.8% from 2009 to 2010 to reach an all-time high of 8,582, according to the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed’s (RASFF) 2010 Annual Report. The RASFF is the EU’s network for informing member states and the European Commission of food and feed risks. The number […]

San Jose, CA 10/19/11—Measurement instrument firm Endress+Hauser has acquired a stake in Finesse Solutions, a developer and producer of sensors, hardware and software for bioprocess engineering. Skymoon Ventures, the previous majority shareholder, will hold an equal stake to Endress+Hauser and the company’s staff of about 50 will maintain their ownership stake. “Biotechnological procedures will play […]