Thermo buys Affinity BioReagents
This latest acquisition will further strengthen the industry heavyweight's offering to its proteomics customers, with Affinity BioReagents offering more than 35,000 reagents for use in medical, academic and pharmaceutical drug discovery research.
The privately held firm, which reportedly had 2007 revenues of around $6m (€3.8m), was bought for an undisclosed amount. In comparison, Thermo Fisher Scientific is one of the largest companies in the research industry, generating more than $10bn in annual revenue.
Affinity BioReagents will join Open Biosystems as part of Thermo Fisher's Analytical Technology Segment.
The newly acquired company's product catalogue consists primarily of antibodies, recombinant proteins and peptides, which were already distributed by Thermo Fisher Scientific amongst other partners.
In addition to its catalogue offering, Affinity also provides custom-made antibodies and peptides through its 'Antibody on Demand' service.
Antibodies bind to their target antigen with a high specificity, making them ideal research reagents for isolating molecules of interest from cells. They have become an indispensible tool for identifying protein functions in disease onset and progression including the key fields of immunology, neurobiology, toxicology and cancer research.
"Affinity BioReagents is an ideal complement to our existing capabilities in protein research," said Marijn Dekkers, CEO of Thermo Fisher Scientific.
"This acquisition enhances our extensive antibody portfolio, which will drive growth as we combine these reagents with our current proteomics offerings to create end-to-end solutions for widely used protein-research applications."
Thermo Scientific has built up an enviable portfolio of protein research tools, which includes the award winning LTQ Orbitrap hybrid mass spectrometer, flow cytommetry instruments, immunhistochemistry tools, ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) and western blots.
Last July, Affinity announced the single largest one-time launch of research antibodies from any life science manufacturer on record, with the launch of more than 16,000 new antibodies. The launch was not just a record within the industry, but was one of the largest product introductions of all time.
Earlier this year at the 2008 Fisher Scientific Supplier Expo, Ken Wilczek Affinity's president commented on the success of the distribution relationship: "It really speaks to the integrity and prowess of Affinity BioReagents as a world-class research reagent supplier to be included in the Fisher family. Since the inception of the relationship between ABR and Fisher in 2004, the combination of ABR's portfolio of 100% guaranteed research products and the distribution capabilities of Fisher have added up to a very successful collaboration."
