BD purchases cell sorting tool firm

BD, which posted $9m in sales in 2007, did not disclose financial terms of the deal commented that the purchase was not expected to have a material impact on the company's 2008 earnings. "This strategic acquisition brings new technologies and capabilities that will enhance BD's ability to address growing customer needs in advanced applications, such as cell therapy research​," said William Kozy, BD executive vice president. "This transaction reflects our commitment to bringing innovative tools to life scientists and will allow us to rapidly enter emerging areas of cell-based research​," he added. Central to BD's new product line-up is Cytopeia's flagship product, the Influx flow cytometry cell sorter, which give BD a configurable cell-sorting platform that researchers can optimize for their application-specific needs. Cytopeia's InFlux cell sorter will compliment BD's own 'FACSAria II' system. Both instruments allow researchers to analyze and separate different subtypes of cells in a complex mixture of cells. The InFlux is said to go through 50,000 cells in a second. "In addition to access to BD Biosciences' unparalleled portfolio of cellular research tools, Cytopeia's customers will benefit from our high- quality manufacturing and global customer support capabilities​," Kozy said. The deal is expected to kickstart a number of personnel changes, one of which is the move Ger van den Engh, Cytopeia's president is to make. Van Den Engh is to join BD's Biosciences unit as vice president for advanced cytometry managing the company's Seattle operations. In 2000, Cytopeia was spun off by Seattle's Institute for Systems Biology. The company launched its first product, the InFlux Cell Sorter, four years later. According to MarketResearch.com, along with Beckman Coulter, BD currently share over 80 per cent of the Flow Cytometry market with BD currently holding over 50 per cent market share, due to increasing revenues in benchtop analyzers, cell sorters, and other immunocytometry products. Dako (formerly DakoCytomation), Partec, Cytopeia, and Guava Technologies are also gaining strength in this area. As the Flow Cytometry market continues to grow it is not expected to plateau for several more years. Industry analysts expect the flow cytometry market to reach $1.3bn by this year. Flow Cytometry is used in basic research for fluorescence applications, primarily analyzing CD and cell surface markers in lymphocytic cells. The need for timely access to data has prompted a greater number of laboratories to purchase their own instruments. Recent advances in molecular biology reagents have expanded the use of flow cytometry across a variety of disciplines. Corresponding advances in the ability of equipment to allow the detection of multiple colours/wavelengths have also been observed, impacting the flow cytometry market even more.