Bio Saga Blog - A Chronicle of Life Sciences & Informatics

• Expands specialty diagnostics portfolio with attractive molecular diagnostics capabilities, including infectious disease testing • Complements leading life sciences offering with innovative sample preparation, assay and bioinformatics technologies  • Creates significant value and is expected to be immediately accretive to adjusted earnings per share after close WALTHAM, Mass. and VENLO, The Netherlands – March 3, 2020 – Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, and QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE: QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard: QIA), a leading global provider of molecular diagnostics and sample preparation technologies, today announced that their boards of directors, as well as the managing board of QIAGEN N.V., have unanimously approved Thermo Fisher’s proposal to acquire QIAGEN for €39 per share in cash. The offer price represents a premium of approximately 23% to the closing price of QIAGEN’s common stock on the Frankfurt Prime Standard on Ma...

Merck KGaA today announced that it will acquire Sigma-Aldrich for $17 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Merck will acquire all outstanding shares of Sigma-Aldrich for $140 per share, which would represent a 37 percent premium to Sigma-Aldrich's closing stock price of $102.37 on Sept. 19. The deal is anticipated to be immediately accretive to Merck's EPS pre and EBITDA margin, the companies said, and Merck anticipates achieving annual synergies of about €260 million ($334 million) within three years after the completion of the acquisition. In a statement, Merck KGaA Chairman Karl-Ludwig Kley called the deal a "quantum leap" for the company's life science business, whose contributions to the German firm's overall earnings would more than double with the addition of Sigma-Aldrich. "In one of the world's key industries two companies that fit perfectly together have found each other to present a much broader product offering to our global cus...

Roche said today that it will acquire Genia Technologies for $125 million in cash and up to $225 million in additional payments tied to milestones. Once the deal closes, Genia will be integrated into the Roche Sequencing Unit. Genia, based in Mountain View, Calif., has been developing a single-molecule sequencing-by-synthesis technology that uses nanopore-based electrical detection and employs a semiconductor integrated circuit. Last fall, Genia and its academic collaborators at Columbia University, Harvard University, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology published proof of concept for their NanoTag sequencing technology. According to Roche, Genia's technology "is expected to reduce the price of sequencing while increasing speed and sensitivity." Roche has also been working with Pacific Biosciences on developing a sequencing system and assays for clinical diagnostics using PacBio's single-molecule real-time sequencing technology. Last fall,...

Qiagen has purchased the assets of Biobase, a Wolfenbüttel, Germany-based provider of curated biological databases, for an undisclosed sum. Qiagen said that Biobase will be renamed Qiagen Wolfenbüttel. Also, Michael Tysiak, BioBase's CEO, will join Qiagen as general manager of the newly purchased company. Founded in 2007, Biobase provides access to curated data assembled by subject matter experts and organized in an accessible and easy to search manner. Its databases support projects focused on functional and gene regulation analyses, variant annotation, pharmacogenetics-based analysis, and more. Among its repositories are the Human Gene Mutation Database (HGMD), which offers access to information on inherited disease mutations; GenomeTrac, which contains data on pathogenic variants; the PharmacoGenomic Mutation Database, which serves as a resource for locating variants that affect drug response; and the Transcription Factor Binding Sites database, which contains information o...

In continuation to BioSaga's pursuit to cover the PerkinElmer's Layoff Saga The Layoffs Continue...  The story now is never-ending, here is the latest! PerkinElmer reduced its headcount by 74 employees in the fourth quarter of 2013, bringing the total headcount reduction during the year to 430, it disclosed in its Form 10K filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. During the fourth quarter, the company approved a restructuring plan to shift certain R&D activity resources to a newly opened Center for Innovation, resulting in the 74 layoffs. All employees were notified of their termination by Dec. 29, 2013. A total of $3.9 million was recorded in severance payments related to the layoffs in Q4 2013, PerkinElmer said, adding remaining severance payments of $2.0 million for workforce reductions will be "substantially completed" by the end of Q2 2014. The company had previously disclosed it laid off 30 employees in Q3; 265 employees ...

Accelrys has bought Qumas, a provider of cloud-based and on-premise enterprise compliance software for regulatory and quality operations in regulated industries including the life sciences, for $50 million. Accelrys said that the added intellectual property extends its informatics portfolio by providing document and process management compliance solutions that improve its ability to help customers reduce regulatory risks and quality costs, improve compliance, and increase operational efficiency across their product development lifecyles. Operating from offices in Cork, Ireland and New Jersey, Qumas provides an electronic document management application with related research and development submission and QA documentation packages based on customer and industry requirements and best practices. Its business process management applications include corrective action/preventive action, audit, change control, deviation, complaint, and more. For the last two decades, the company has been ...

Illumina today announced it signed a definitive agreement to acquire clinical software firm NextBio. NextBio, based in Santa Clara, Calif., provides platforms to aggregate and analyze large amounts of phenotypic and genomic data for research and clinical applications. It currently has customers at more than 50 commercial entities and academic institutions. By acquiring the firm, Illumina "will be able to offer customers enterprise-level bioinformatics solutions that accelerate the discovery of new associations between the human genome and disease, and ultimately, enable the application of those discoveries within healthcare," according to a company statement. NextBio's platform allows customers to compare experimental data against existing data sets using a correlation engine, enabling them to discover new associations. It uses "highly scalable" software-as-a-service enterprise technology and is capable of analyzing petabytes of data. Illumina plans ...

Qiagen has acquired CLC Bio, a privately held bioinformatics software company headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark. The news was first reported on AllSeq's blog . This is the second bioinformatics company that Qiagen has purchased this year. In May, it bought Ingenuity Systems for $105 million in cash to offer its life science and clinical customers a complete and integrated workflow for its PCR- and next-generation sequencing-based molecular testing solutions ( BI 5/3/2013 ). Qiagen has been making some interesting moves lately, slowly building an end to end sequencing solution. They’ve already established themselves as the market leaders in sample prep, but then they started acquiring the missing pieces. First they bought Intelligent BioSystems in June 2012, giving them access to a sequencing platform built with the clinical market in mind (fairly standard SBS chemistry, relatively fast runs and multiple flow cells to obviate the need for sample multiplexing). Then they ...

Qiagen said this week that it acquired Ingenuity Systems for $105 million in cash in order to offer its life science and clinical customers a complete and integrated workflow for its PCR- and next-generation sequencing-based molecular testing solutions — from sample preparation to data interpretation. Under its new parent, Ingenuity will continue to operate out of its offices in Redwood City, Calif., and retain all 120 current employees, while CEO Jake Leschly takes on new responsibilities within Qiagen's life science business unit. Ingenuity will also continue to develop and offer products under its existing licensing scheme. Its portfolio includes a knowledgebase of curated genomic variants; Ingenuity Pathway Analysis, its web-based application for modeling and analyzing biological pathways; Ingenuity Variant Analysis, which selects clinically relevant genomic variants from NGS data ( BI 1/13/2012 ); and Ingenuity iReport, its software for reporting the results of gene ...

BGI-Shenzhen today said that it has extended its offer to acquire Complete Genomics for around $118 million until midnight New York City time on Dec. 14. BGI's tender offer to acquire all of the shares of Complete Genomics was previously scheduled to expire today. As of the close of business last night approximately 15.4 million shares of Complete Genomics' common stock, or 44 percent of its outstanding shares, were tendered and not withdrawn. The extension of the offer last night coincided with a letter Illumina sent to Complete Genomics' board of directors urging them to reconsider Illumina's offer to acquire the firm for around $123 million. Earlier this week Illumina confirmed that it had made an unsolicited offer of $3.30 per share to acquire Complete Genomics. That offer is 5 percent higher than the price agreed between BGI and Complete Genomics. Complete Genomics turned down Illumina's offer saying that it would likely be turned down by regulator...

Courtesy Xconomy After merging with Symyx Technologies in 2010, acquiring Contur Sofware in 2011, and buying VelQuest earlier this year, San Diego scientific software developer Accelrys says today it is buying Aegis Analytical. Accelrys is paying $30 million in cash for Aegis, a company based in Lafayette, CO, (near Boulder) that makes software used to monitor biotech product development and manufacturing processes. In a  statement  today, Accelrys says the deal helps to further expand its suite of software used to manage the life cycle of innovation among pharmaceutical companies and in other industries. Aegis has about 40 full-time and contract employees, and “the idea is to keep the business in Boulder and fairly intact,” Accelrys CFO Michael Piraino told me during a phone interview earlier this afternoon. Aegis CEO Robert Di Scipio will stay with the merged company through the transition to new ownership. About two-thirds of Acce...

This is getting interesting every day! I love this Idea! sell a company but before selling it split or spin off as another company with a future technology (Illumina). After a few years again sell or get acquired! Citing vast future potential, ISS has sided with Illumina in the gene-sequencing company’s fight to hold off a hostile bid from Roche Holding. The proxy advisor says shareholders should vote the Illumina board back into service, and reject Roche’s slate because the offer probably undervalues the future of Illumina. Roche  last week raised its offer for Illumina to $51 a share from $44.50 , and called it fair and full. But Illumina shares immediately went above $51, and some in the market have pointed to $60 as the number to get the deal done. Illumina rejected the offer,  citing a report that compared the company to Apple and Illumina’s products to iPads.  The company has argued that Roche’s bid came just after Illumina’s own shares had cratered on a ba...

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical, and medical information products and services, announced today the acquisition of the business assets of  Ariadne Genomics , a provider of pathway analysis tools and semantic technologies for life science researchers. Ariadne will be integrated with Elsevier's Corporate Markets division. "Ariadne Genomics' pathway analysis tools and semantic technologies integrate research findings from across multiple content sources providing a deeper understanding of biological pathways and disease progression. Ariadne's products improve research productivity and outcomes for life science researchers by delivering new insights for potential interventions, therapies and cures," said Alexander van Boetzelaer, Managing Director of Elsevier Corporate Markets. "Ariadne brings to Elsevier an information offering in the biology domain and a passionate and dedicated team of life science professionals. Ariadne's team ...

PerkinElmer is pleased to announce that today it completed the acquisition of Caliper Life Sciences, an exciting milestone in PerkinElmer’s evolution. The purchase, announced in September . Bringing Caliper into PerkinElmer will significantly strengthen leadership position in the growing area of personalized medicine, providing pharmaceutical companies and clinicians with the tools and knowledge they need to enable individualized diagnoses and treatments. PKI's work moving ahead in this emerging field will be made possible by an outstanding team of people from Caliper and PerkinElmer collaborating together to leverage the combined power of their knowledge and expertise to deliver insight-driven innovations. Bio-discovery and Caliper will combine to form PerkinElmer’s new Life Sciences & Technology (LST) Strategic Business Element (SBE). In a statement today, Robert Friel, chairman and CEO of PerkinElmer, said that he is confident that joining together these two organization...

PerkinElmer, Inc. , a global leader focused on improving the health and safety of people and the environment, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire  Caliper Life Sciences, Inc. , a  Hopkinton, Massachusetts -based leader in imaging and detection solutions for life sciences research, diagnostics and environmental markets, for  $10.50  per share, for a total net purchase price of approximately  $600 million  in cash. Robert F. Friel , chairman and chief executive officer,  PerkinElmer , said, "The acquisition of  Caliper Life Sciences  brings innovative molecular imaging and detection technologies to our portfolio, complementing our world-leading offerings in life science, diagnostics, environmental and food markets." Friel added, "The R&D, application expertise, and intellectual property of the combined organization will provide our customers with enhanced knowledge and services and a strong pipeline of in...

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...

Shares of Gen-Probe jumped 14 percent today after  Bloomberg  reported that the firm has hired Morgan Stanley to seek a buyer. Among the possible bidders listed in the article are Novartis, Thermo-Fisher Scientific, Danaher, and Life Technologies. Novartis already sells Gen-Probe's Tigris blood-screening instrument to blood banks, and it has  helped fund development  of Gen-Probe's new automated molecular testing platform, called Panther. The firms have collaborated since 1998 on nucleic acid tests and instruments for the blood screening market. According to Mizuho analyst Peter Lawson, around $12 billion has been spent on diagnostics-focused merger and acquisition activity over the past year. He noted that typical molecular and proprietary-focused acquisition valuations fall into the 3x-6x price/sales range. Two months ago, Gen-Probe  reported full-year 2010 revenues  of $543.3 million. At that time, it also reported a 2 percent decrease in fourt...

PerkinElmer, Inc., a global leader focused on the health and safety of people and the environment, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire CambridgeSoft Corporation, and has completed the purchase of ArtusLabs, Inc.  These acquisitions will enhance the Company's focus on knowledge management in laboratory settings by expanding its informatics and software offerings, enabling customers to rapidly access and share enterprise-wide data for faster, more informed scientific decisions. The purchase of CambridgeSoft is expected to close in the second quarter, subject to customary closing conditions, including the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. Do you wish to know more?

Pfizer Inc., whose serial mega-mergers have disappointed investors, may now be headed in the opposite direction. The New York-based drug maker may spin off various businesses, including its consumer-health and generic-drug units, in deals that result in a 40% contraction in its revenue base, Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Tim Anderson wrote in a research note Monday, after meeting with Pfizer Chief Executive Ian Read. The mounting speculation of potential Pfizer divestitures helped lift its shares to a 52-week high Monday, recently trading up nearly 2% at $19.82. "Investors are desperate to see pharmaceutical companies take bold steps...to try and break the cycle of underperformance," Anderson said. He added that Read and Pfizer's board "appear eager to do the same and dismantling the business will accomplish that goal." Pfizer spokeswoman Joan Campion said Monday, "As we previously stated on Feb. 1, we're conducting a portfolio review in 2011, and the re...

Reckitt Benckiser emerged successful in race to buy Pars in spite of 4 global drugmakers submit bids for India's Paras Pharma buy .  Reckitt Benckiser Group plc (RB) today announces that it has agreed to buy Paras Pharmaceuticals Limited (Paras) forINR 32.6 billion (Indian Rupees) (approximately GBP 460 million) from the current shareholders, including the Patel family and Actis, the emerging markets private equity investor. RB will finance the transaction from existing facilities.    Paras is a privately-owned Indian company with a portfolio of leading Indian over the counter Health and Personal Care brands including:    Moov, the No 2 topical analgesic pain ointment, D’Cold, the No 2 cold & flu remedy, Dermicool, the No 2 for prickly heat, Krack, the No 1 medicated skin treatment for cracked heels and Itch Guard and Ring Guard anti fungal creams. In addition, Paras has a personal care business led by Set Wet, a leading hair gel and deodorant bran...