Bio Saga Blog - A Chronicle of Life Sciences & Informatics

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...

A virus that commonly infects potatoes bears a striking resemblance to one of the key proteins implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and researchers have used that to develop antibodies that may slow or prevent the onset of AD. Studies in mice have demonstrated that vaccinations with the amyloid beta protein (believed to be a major AD contributor) to produce AD antibodies can slow disease progression and improve cognitive function, possibly by promoting the destruction of amyloid plaques. Some early human trials have likewise been promising, but had to be halted due to the risk of autoimmune encephalitis. One way to make Alzheimer's vaccinations safer would be to use a closely-related, but not human, protein as the vaccine, much like cowpox virus is used for smallpox immunizations. In the August 15 Journal of Biological Chemistry, Robert Friedland and colleagues used this concept on an amyloid-like protein found in potato virus (PVY). They injected PVY into mice follo...