AnaSpec, a supplier of peptides and antibodies, has acquired fellow US company HiLyte Biosciences.
HiLyte specialises in bioanalytical research reagents and kits designed for scientists engaged in life science research and drug discovery.
HiLyte has built a broad product range in fluorescence and luminescence assay technologies and offers a rapidly expanding list of products that include: Reactive fluorescent/luminescent probes and biotins used for labeling small drug molecules and biopolymers; Fluorescent and luminescent stains for proteins, nucleic acids and live cells; Fluorescent and luminescent probes for detecting enzymes; Novel fluorescent reagents for cell signaling; and Fluorescent physiological and neurological probes, e.g. calcium indicators, membrane potential probes and reagents for second messengers, such as IP3, cAMP/cGMP, ATP, GTP.
Dr Anita Hong, president of AnaSpec, said that the combination of HiLyte's fluorescent probes with AnaSpec's antibodies will generate a number of novel reagents and kits for our customers in drug discovery and life sciences.
She added: "the merged company will be able to create a number of value-added products.
We expect to see significant revenue and earning growth within the next few years."
Dr Zhenjun Diwu, the co-founder and president of HiLyte who will become chief scientific officer at AnaSpec, also pointed to the synergies afforded by the merger.
He noted that the marketing and sale resources of AnaSpec will accelerate the penetration of HiLyte's technologies into new markets, while the former's ISO 9001:2000 certified manufacturing facilities and production infrastructure "will provide a springboard for HiLyte to rapidly launch its new products."
The integration of the operations will be completed within two weeks, but financial terms of the merger have not been disclosed.