Bio Saga Blog - A Chronicle of Life Sciences & Informatics

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Agilent said today that it has signed a co-marketing agreement with Picometrics Technologies to provide combined solutions for capillary electrophoresis, laser induced fluorescence detection, and mass spectrometry for biopharmaceutical applications. The platform is intended for the research and development of complex large-molecule biopharmaceutical compounds, and is the only online CE-LIF-MS solution currently available, Agilent said. "This unique technological platform using our new-generation LIF detection will significantly increase efficiency for biotherapeutic characterization in research, development and quality control," Jean Charles Garcia, president of Picometrics, said in a statement. "We are excited to collaborate with Picometrics and provide this unique product offering to the biopharmaceutical industry — particularly those focusing on the research and development of NBEs, or new biological entities," said Michael Frank, Agilent marketing direct...

Dako today said that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved two assays for use as companion diagnostics for a Genentech drug targeting HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. FDA simultaneously approved Dako's HercepTest and HER2 IQFISH pharmDx assays and Genentech's drug Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine). Kadcyla is for patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who have been previously treated with Genentech's Herceptin (trastuzumab) and a taxane chemotherapy. Dako, an Agilent company, and Genentech, a Roche company, have been collaborating on the development of companion diagnostics for Genentech's drugs for a few years. In May 2012 the two firms inked a pact to collaborate on the FDA submission of Dako's assays for Kadcyla. A month later the HercepTest and HER2 FISH pharmDx were approved by FDA as companion diagnostics for Genentech's breast cancer drug Perjeta (pertuzumab). In late 2011, FDA gave the thumbs up to Dako's H...

Dako is one of the leading global providers of cancer diagnostics tools. --Acquisition will strategically complement Agilent's research technologies and will accelerate growth in rapidly expanding segments of diagnostic markets. --Significantly increases base of recurring revenues. --All-cash deal is largest in Agilent's history. Expected to be immediately accretive to Agilent earnings on a non-GAAP basis. Agilent Technologies Inc. and EQT, the Sweden-based private equity group, today announced the execution of a definitive agreement for Agilent to acquire Dako, the Denmark-based cancer diagnostic company. The $2.2 billion acquisition (on a debt-free basis) is the largest in Agilent's history. Dako's products are sold in more than 100 countries, and in 2010 its annual revenue was approximately $340 million (USD). The company employs more than 1,000 people, primarily in Denmark, in Carpinteria, Calif., and other parts of the world. The acquisition is...

Persistent Systems Ltd (PSL) has signed an agreement to acquire Agilent Technologies' software marketing and development business unit based in Grenoble, France. The acquisition is expected to be final by August 1, after which the unit will be called Persistent Systems, France. Dr Anand Deshpande, Chairman and Managing Director, PSL said the acquisition will contribute to Persistent's thrust in the life sciences and healthcare markets and also give it a presence in Europe. Around 30 domain experts from Agilent will come on board once the transaction is completed and more may be added, he said. The Agilent business is now focused on supplying data acquisition and control software for scientific instruments to the life sciences, environmental, energy, applied research and other markets. Currently, PSL's Life Sciences business contributes 10-12 per cent to its topline and was worth $20 million in FY 2011. The team here includes over 40 domain experts and more than 500 softw...

Agilent Technologies signs a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Malaysia through the Malaysian Institute of Pharmaceuticals and Nutraceuticals (IPHARM), an agency under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), to promote and develop cooperation in biotechnology.  Under the terms of the MoU, the strategic alliance will focus on the establishment of the IPHARM-Agilent Global Reference Research Lab and the development of human capital in the emerging field of biotechnology.  The lab will develop global halal testing standards in pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. It also will provide access to state-of-the-art analytical tools and expertise to develop the local industry and small and medium enterprise (SME) ecosystem in their commercialisation efforts.  IPHARM brings its domain expertise in bioactive compounds research and analysis to the partnership while leveraging Malaysia's inherited strength in biodiversity and its aspirat...

Agilent Technologies said after the close of the market Friday that it has completed the roughly $1.5 billion acquisition of Varian. Completion of the deal was announced a day after Agilent said that the European Commission has informed the firm that it had met the conditions set forth in January for the acquisition of Varian. Those conditions included the divestiture of certain product lines, which were recently sold to Bruker. Agilent said today that the majority of Varian's product lines will become part of the Chemical Analysis Group, with some key businesses being housed in Agilent's Life Sciences Group. Adding to Agilent's portfolio of mass spectrometry, liquid and gas chromatography, and array products, the firm's life sciences business gains Varian's nuclear magnetic resonance, MRI, and X-ray products. "These technology platforms will open new doors for Agilent and its customers," Nick Roelofs, Agilent's senior VP and president of LSG, said in ...

Agilent Technologies has inked a definitive agreement to acquire Varian for $52 per share, or a total of around $1.5 billion. The acquisition is Agilent's largest in the life sciences space and continues a strategy by the firm to focus on that segment and its "transformation into a leading bio-analytical measurement company. The deal will expand Agilent's presence in the life sciences research and applied markets, such as the environment and energy. Agilent said that it also will expand its product portfolio into atomic and molecular spectroscopy and in other fields including nuclear magnetic resonance, imaging, and vacuum technologies. "This acquisition is a major step in Agilent's transformation into a leading bio-analytical measurement company," Agilent President and CEO Bill Sullivan said in a statement. "The combination of Varian with Agilent's bio-analytical measurement business will result in the broadest product offering in the industry....