Thermo Acquires Microbiology Company
TREK has 160 employees and offices in Wisconsin and the UK. As of the first quarter, Thermo’s Microbiology business, which includes the Oxoid and Remel brands, represented 32% of its Specialty Diagnostics business. Microbiology has been a target for acquisition activity recently as both bioMérieux (see IBO 5/31/11) and Merck Millipore (see IBO 3/31/11) have made purchases.
Waltham, MA 7/18/11; Basingstoke, England 7/18/11—Thermo Fisher Scientific has acquired TREK Diagnostic Systems from Magellan Biosciences for an undisclosed amount. TREK Diagnostic Systems provides microbiology solutions, including blood culture, micro-organism identification and antibiotic susceptibility products. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, TREK had 2010 revenues of $34 million. “Advances in automation and the development of more rapid and reliable tests enable us to provide our customers with improvements in productivity and efficiency that are critical when responding to increasingly complex microbiological threats to human health,” said Thermo President and CEO Marc N. Casper. Thermo also stated that the acquisition of TREK’s VersaTREK platforms allows it offer automated systems for blood culture and the detection of mycobacteria. TREK joined Thermo’s Analytical Technologies Segment.
