Qiagen to acquire SABiosciences
Qiagen of the Netherlands is to purchase SABiosciences Corporation, a privately owned developer and manufacturer of disease- and pathway-focused PCR assay panels, for US$90m. SABiosciences, based in Frederick, Maryland, US, employs around 100 people. The transaction is expected to close in December 2009.
Qiagen of the Netherlands is to purchase SABiosciences Corporation, a privately owned developer and manufacturer of disease- and pathway-focused PCR assay panels, for US$90m. SABiosciences, based in Frederick, Maryland, US, employs around 100 people. The transaction is expected to close in December 2009.
SABiosciences designs PCR-based assay panels used in biomedical research and in the development of future drugs and diagnostics. The company's primary product family includes more than 100 realtime PCR assay panels for high-performance analysis of DNA, RNA, epigenetic and microRNA targets in biological pathways associated with specific diseases such as cancer, diabetes, immune and cardiovascular disorders, as well as with pathways such as apoptosis (programmed cell death), signal transduction and toxicology.
SABiosciences focuses on the biology of entire pathways and interaction of all genes involved in a specific disease. In a single experiment users can therefore learn how gene activity in their samples correlates with the state of a disease of their particular interest.
Qiagen supplies disease- and pathway-focused panels to biomedical and pharma activities in discovery and preclinical research, contributing to the discovery and validation engines of biomedical and pharma companies.
The transaction fits nicely with Qiagen's recent acquisition of DXS, which has put the company in a leading position in the emerging field of personalised medicine.
"The combination of SABiosciences" strong content development and bioinformatics capability with Qiagen's leadership in molecular biology and its global footprint allow us to take our proven PCR Array technology to the next level," said Li Shen, president of SABiosciences.
After the completion of the transaction, Qiagen says it will further expand the segment of disease- and pathway-focused assay panels. The company also intends to establish SABiosciences' Frederick site as a Centre of Excellence in biological content development and expand it in the near future.