March l’Etoile, France 9/11/07—BioMérieux has acquired BTF, a supplier of reference standards for microbiological testing and water control solutions. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Based in Sydney, Australia, BTF generated 2006 sales of AUD 4 million ($3.0 million) and employs 24 people. “We are excited about the acquisition of BTF, our third […]

Founded in 2001, the Canadian firm GenoLogics is based in Victoria, British Columbia, and develops laboratory information management systems (LIMS). The company’s first product was a LIMS for proteomics that grew out of a collaboration with the University of Victoria Genome BC Proteomics Center. As Tanis McSween, manager of marketing communications, explained, these collaborations gave […]

On September 10, the US government’s Interagency Working Group on Import Safety issued its first report on import safety. The Group, which includes personnel from 12 federal departments and agencies, was created in July by the Bush Administration following the discovery of tainted imported pet food (see IBO 5/31/07). The report recommends a strategic framework […]

In August, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced new rules for the patenting process, which will take effect on November 1. Under the new rules, patent submissions can not include more than 25 claims, and inventors will only be able to file two new “continuing applications,” which allow inventors to add further claims […]

In June, Agilent appointed Neil Cook, PhD, as vice president and director of the Molecular Technology Laboratory at Agilent Laboratories. He will also serve as the R&D/technology manager for the Life Sciences and Chemical Analysis business. Most recently, he was vice president for research and business development and chief scientific officer for PerkinElmer Life and […]

GE Healthcare introduced illustra plasmidPrep Midi Flow and Mini Spin plasmid DNA purification kits, illustra blood genomicPrep Mini Spin and Midi Flow genomic DNA purification kits, and illustra GFX PCR DNA and Gel Band Purification kits. QIAGEN launched the QIAplex PCR multiplex assays, consisting of the ResPlex I, ResPlex II and StaphPlex Panels, which allow […]