Company Announcements AAPPTec appointed Presearch to distribute its peptide and organic molecule synthesis instruments. Biotage AB announced in February that due to the “unsatisfactory” profitability of its Chemical Development business, it will gradually close the business. Biotage AB and McMaster University’s Institute of Applied Radiation Sciences signed an agreement to develop a new chemistry platform […]

Simulated moving bed chromatography (SMB) is a variation of conventional liquid chromatography, which provides continuous chromatographic separations, as opposed to batch separations, which account for the majority of chromatography systems. For the most part, the use of SMB in the laboratory is tied to a narrow scope of industrial applications, for which it offers a […]

College Station, TX 3/23/07—William W. Botts, president and CEO of OI Corporation, has resigned following the completion of an investigation by a special committee into the company’s stock option practices (see IBO 1/31/07). The special committee reviewed stock option grants issued between 1985 and 2006 and found incidences of misdated option grants, the issuance of […]

Company Announcements Affymetrix promoted James Gibson, vice president of accounting and corporate controller, to principal accounting officer in December 2006. In January, Illumina signed a collaborative agreement with the Mayo Clinic to codevelop molecular diagnostic tests for the study of complex diseases. Partek’s Genomics Suite achieved GeneChip-compatible status for analysis of SNP association studies using […]

Investment in US refineries is on the upswing due to increased profitability. Driven by higher oil prices, rising demand and years of underinvestment, US refining margins remain healthy. According to Wood Mackenzie, US demand for gas is forecasted to outpace supply over the next three years due, in part, to shutdowns of refineries, as upgrades […]

According to “Public Support for Science and Innovation,” a new report by Australia’s Productivity Commission, the Australian government budgeted an estimated AUD 5.974 billion ($4.492 billion) for science and innovation in 2006–07. Major government research agencies accounted for 23% of funding, including the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, which recieved AUD 607.2 million, making […]

The United Kingdom’s fiscal 2007 budget, announced on March 21, increased resources for scientific research. The budget specified a 2.5% average annual increase in real terms in science spending to £6.287 billion ($12.267 billion) by 2010–11. In 2007–08, UK science spending totals £5.397 billion, including £3.383 billion for the Department for Trade and Industry and […]

Earlier this month, the US Department of Energy (DOE) released its final operating plan for fiscal 2007 (see IBO 2/15/07). The DOE’s budget of $23.598 billion includes $3.8 billion for the Office of Science, a 4.5% increase over the fiscal 2006 appropriation. Within the Office of Science, funding for biological and environmental research decreased 14.3% […]