Top News Events of 2008

GE Purchases Whatman

The acquisition (see IBO 2/15/08) was evidence that GE Life Science is still intent on growing its business. The $713 million purchase was also a testament to the importance of sample preparation products to life science suppliers.

Agilent Expands Materials Science Business

Four acquisitions this year (see IBO 3/15/08, 6/30/08, 7/15/08) added a range of new techniques to Agilent Bio-Analytical Measurements’ product portfolio. The broadening of its offerings puts the company in direct competition with a new set of very established competitors.

Invitrogen Acquires Applied Biosystems

The $6.7 billion deal combined two of the largest players in the life science research market, making for a potent combination (see page 16). It was also a further endorsement of the linkage of consumables and instrumentation.

QIAGEN Invests in Thermal Cyclers and Sequencing

QIAGEN’s purchase of two instrument companies, Corbett Life Sciences (see IBO 7/15/08) and Biotage’s Biosystems business (see IBO 10/15/08), expanded QIAGEN’s product mix to include a larger share of instrumentation. It also provided the company with products for two of the fastest-growing life science markets.

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