China plans to dramatically increase agricultural biotechnology spending to guarantee its food supply. Although a final budget has yet to be approved, spending is set to increase five times its current level, according to Zhang Liang Chen, president of the Agricultural University of China. According to Jikun Huang, director of the Center for Chinese Agricultural […]

Company Announcements Germany’s Molnar-Institut acquired DryLab chromatography modeling software and the MethodMatch and ColumnMatch software from Rheodyne in 2006. Dionex established a European customer support center in 2006 in Olten, Switzerland. It joins the company’s other support centers in the US, China and Thailand. Dionex opened a new North American sales and service facility in […]

Basel, Switzerland 3/29/07; Branford, CT 3/29/07—Roche has signed a definitive agreement to purchase 454 Life Sciences from CuraGen for $140 million in cash and up to $14.9 million in cash upon the exercise of stock options and warrants. Roche has exclusively distributed 454’s DNA sequencing systems since May 2005. In 2006, 454’s product revenue grew […]

Company Announcements Datacolor and China Textile Information Center partnered to provide training and color certification programs in digital color management. TeraView appointed Dr. Barrie Thorpe, formerly executive vice president of Operations for AstraZeneca, and Dr. Andrew Carr, formerly director of Amersham, to its Board in 2006. Perten Instruments set up a fully owned Chinese subsidiary […]

IMS Health reports that 2006 global pharmaceutical sales grew 7.0% to $643 billion, with “specialist-driven” products accounting for 62% of market growth. Sales in India and China increased 17.5% and 12.3% to $7.3 billion and $13.4 billion, respectively. Latin American sales grew 12.7% to $33.6 billion, and Asian-Pacific and African sales increased 10.5% to $66 […]

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 […]

Waltham, MA 3/20/07; Dusseldorf, Germany 3/20/07—Thermo Fisher Scientific and Gerresheimer have announced a joint venture to manufacture glass labware for scientific laboratories. Gerresheimer will hold a 51% in the joint venture, which will be named Kimble/Chase Life Scienceware and will be based in New Jersey. Kimble/Chase Life Scienceware will include Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Chase Scientific, […]

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% […]

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 […]