Bio-Rad buys Ciphergen's life science instrument business

The acquisition gives California-based Bio-Rad an access to protein analysis technology for the life science market and represents a significant addition to the company's portfolio of products, the firm said.

The business being sold includes surface enhanced laser desorption/ionisation (SELDI) technology as well as protein chip arrays and software designed for them. Bio-Rad will make and sell the laser technology to life science companies and will also get hold of a significant customer base.

"The study of proteins continues to be a rapidly growing area in the life sciences,"​ said Norman Schwartz, Bio-Rad president and CEO.

"With the acquisition of Ciphergen products, Bio-Rad will be able to provide a broad range of proteomic tools from basic separations to full identification of proteins."​

SELDI technology is used to perform biomarker discovery, and to gain a better understanding of protein function and the molecular basis of disease.

Proteomics is a growing market and it is believed this technology will have an important impact on the future of drug discovery. It is estimated to represent $1.5bn in 2005 and is growing approximately 15 per cent annually.

In addition to the acquisition, Bio-Rad will make a $3m equity investment in Ciphergen.

Furthermore, the firm will supply instruments and reagents to Ciphergen, through a separate supply agreement. However, Ciphergen will retain rights to the diagnostics market.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year and is subject to approval by Ciphergen's stockholders.