The deal, first announced last month, creates a significant presence in the preclinical drug screening and target validation market, the fastest growing segment of the life sciences tools industry.
The deal is the latest in a series of acquisitions that has seen Serologicals absorb AltaGen Biosciences, the parent company of Sierra BioSource, a leading provider of contract research and development services to the cell culture industry.
In the process, Serologicals has shifted its business model to become one of the broadest suppliers of cell biology reagents, with the capacity to introduce approximately 1,500 new research products per year through its Chemicon subsidiary and now Upstate. In addition the agreement will create the opportunity for significant revenue and operating synergies between Chemicon and Upstate, including sales, marketing, distribution, product development and administration.
Upstate, first formed in 1984, produces antibodies, peptides and proteins for cell transduction research at a facility in Lake Placid, New York. Its main products are the BeadLyte assay line, which is promoted as a more accurate and less time-consuming alternative to standard ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) tests.
The company has also developed a position in small interfering RNA (siRNA) reagents and tools for analysing kinases, chromatic/transcription. G protein coupled receptors, oxidative stress and apoptosis/cell cycle factors.
Shatkin joins board
Meanwhile, Serologicals also announced that Aaron Shatkin, one of the world's pre-eminent biotechnologists, to the company's board of directors. Dr Shatkin currently serves as the director for the Centre for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, and is also professor of molecular genetics and microbiology at the Robert W Johnson Medical School in New Jersey.