An X-ray diffraction (XRD) system transmits X-ray beams to a sample (generally a single crystal, metallic solid or a powder) and records the diffraction pattern that occurs when the X-ray photons encounter the inter-atomic gaps within the crystal structure. The results from the scattered photons are used to determine various properties of a sample, such […]

India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) is preparing plans to enable foreign drug companies to conduct phase I clinical trials in the country, according to a government official. Currently, only Indian companies can conduct phase 0 and I trials domestically. KPMG estimates that India’s clinical research market was worth $200 million in 2007 and […]

Carlsbad, CA 9/16/08; Carlsbad, CA and Foster City, CA 9/17/08; Carlsbad, CA 9/26/08—Invitrogen has completed the syndication of the $2.65 billion in financing for its acquisition of Applied Biosystems (ABI) (see IBO 6/15/08). Thirty bank lenders have committed to a Term Loan A in the amount of $1.4 billion, and 250 lenders have committed to […]

New rules for labeling fresh produce and meat by country of origin went into effect in the US on September 30. Manufactures have six months to comply with the rules. However, loopholes in the law exempt processed foods and mixed vegetables. In addition, labels on meat cuts can show more than one country of origin. […]

Company Announcements Kromasil announced earlier this year that it stopped selling analytical bulk material to independent column packers and is now only using a network of distributors. In September, Chromatide partnered with Kromasil, an Akzo Nobel brand, to develop silica-based HPLC media with an emphasis in the area of chiral purification. YMC opened an office […]

Company Announcements Caliper Life Sciences is bundling DiscovRx’s cell-based GPCR assays with its LabChip platforms. Amnis named Gene Company as the Chinese distributor of its ImageStream in May. Fluxion Biosciences signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Bucher Biotec AG for Switzerland. Accuri Cytometers licensed a time-limited, customized version of De Novo Software’s FCS Expression software […]

New York, NY 9/22/08; South San Francisco, 9/26/08—Citing market instability, Fluidigm has withdrawn its registration statement for an IPO. Fluidigm, which develops microfluidic systems for drug development (see IBO 4/30/08), had originally planned to begin trading on September 19, but postponed the offering several times. Fluidigm had planned to raise $79.5 million in an offering […]

Eden Prairie, MN 9/30/08—SurModics, a surface modification and drug delivery technologies company, has acquired GE Healthcare’s CodeLink Activated Slide microarray business. Terms were not disclosed. The CodeLink Activated Slides use SurModics’ PhotoLink technology, which creates a three-dimensional matrix for the attachment of biomolecules. SurModics stated that it plans to sell the product line directly into […]

Point-of-care testing (POCT) is contributing to the growth of the diagnostics product market. In the first six months of this year, the FDA approved 152 POC tests. InteLab estimates that POCT represented 35% of the in vitro diagnostics market in 2005 and that, by 2011, it will account for 41%. In 2005, the market for […]