www.instrumentnews.co.uk February 2011 .

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INSTRUMENT NEWSwww.instrumentnews.co.uk

published monthly

1February 2011 | Vol 3 | Issue 2

Fluorotechnics sells assets after letting go of foreign investments

page 3 Agilent works with

BioSystem on protein sample prep

page 5Thermo Fisher

expands water purification business

page 7New HQ as InProcess

lays ground for further "healthy growth"

page 8Life science firms fail

to match growth of laboratory peers

page 9Recovering markets

a boon for supplies of lab instruments

page 11End-markets:

chemicals surge, but pharma stumbles

page 15

In this issue . . . . . . . .

Roche Holdings (Basel, Switzerland), through its sequencing subsidiary 454 Life Sciences Inc (Branford, CT), has entered into an exclusive partnership with DNA Electronics Ltd (DNAe; London, England), a developer of disposable silicon chip-based technologies for real-time gene sequence detection, involving the development of a “low-cost, high-throughput DNA sequencing system”. Roche has also taken out a non-exclusive license for DNAe’s IP governing semiconductor technology for sensitive detection of nucleotide incorporation during sequencing, using pH changes.

Chris McLeod, president and CEO of 454, told Instrument News that the agreement “is aimed at expanding our current high-throughput, sequencing-by-synthesis systems. As the inventors of ISFET [ion-sensitive field-effect transistor] technology, DNAe brings to the table a unique knowledge of pH-mediated detection and semiconductor design, while we bring our expertise in massively parallel long-read sequencing technology and data analysis”. DNAe will design and produce the semiconductor sequencing chips for 454’s sequencing platform, Dr Chris Toumazou, DNAe’s founder and CEO, explained to Instrument News.

The technology is built on 2001 findings by Toumazou and one of his research students, that show complementary nucleotide binding releases protons. The change in pH can be detected by the firm's ISFET, an unmodified transistor based on mass-produced complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. This reduces sequencing detection to a binary problem, as the system records, which added nucleotide causes the increased acidity. “The high sensitivity of ion detection, coupled with semiconductor design, enables tremendous scalability in the number of features per plate and the ability to achieve ultra-high throughput,” Toumazou added. The method should eliminate the need for expensive CCD (charge-coupled devices) cameras and enzymes involved in the

signal amplification cascade.The technology is already used in DNAe’s

handheld Genalysis® point-of care platform, for which “we are developing a disposable test cartridge, which will perform a Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) totally lab-free”, Toumazou said.

Only days after the announcement of the agreement with Roche in November, DNAe was granted three international patents governing its semiconductor-based nucleotide detection method. Toumazou may well claim that this technology is one of the reasons why Ion Torrent was bought for a staggering $725 million by Life Technologies in September last year, as Ion Torrent had taken out some licences to DNAe’s patents only a month before the acquisition (see IN 2 (10) 1; online 28/9/10).

“We have entered a true collaboration to leverage DNAe’s extensive expertise in this area and develop a unique product offering,” says McLeod, especially as “one of the most intriguing elements of the ISFET technology for us is that it’s fundamentally very similar to [our] pyrosequencing [concept]. On the front-end, it relies on the similar methods of sample prep and DNA amplification and on the back-end, data analysis is comparable.”

Furthermore, McLeod expects products using DNAe’s technology to be available sooner than those based on IBM’s DNA transistor technology, which uses nanopore features for its sequencing concept. IBM and 454 entered into an R&D agreement in summer last year (see IN 2 (8) 4; online 31/7/10), which aims at a “real-time, single molecule sequencing technology” by "leveraging their leadership in microelectronics, information technology and computational biology”.

It remains to be seen whether Roche’s partnership approach reaps faster and more sustainable results than Life Tech’s takeover strategy, which was underpinned by a huge cheque book. n

454 enters into partnership with DNA Electronics

February 2011 www.instrumentnews.co.uk www.instrumentnews.co.uk February 2011 . www.instrumentnews.co.uk February 2011 .

LIFE SCIENCES

2

Private equity company Ratos AB (Stockholm, Sweden) has gained a 95% shareholding of Biolin Scientific AB (Göteborg, Sweden), a developer of technologies for the investigation of interfaces on the nanoscale, after offering to buy the company for approximately SEK305.9 million ($44.9 million at SEK6.82 = $1), or SEK11.50 for each outstanding share of the company. As a result, Biolin ‘s board of directors has applied for the company’s shares to be delisted from NASDAQ OMX Stockholm and Ratos is seeking compulsory redemption of the remaining shareholding.

Emma Rheborg, Ratos’ head of corporate communications, told Instrument News: “We intend to support the company's management team and to assist with capital and expertise in order to support investments in organic and acquisition-driven growth and to further develop the company's technology portfolio and distribution network.” While she would not hint at a time-scale for the eventual sales of Biolin, Rheborg said: “For Biolin, we anticipate strong growth …, [so that] it is best with one owner with the sufficient capital to support that growth.”

Ratos, with roots in steel wholesaling, concentrated for some time on acquiring unlisted Nordic companies with the aim of developing and eventually divesting them onto the global market, with an envisaged annual average return of 20%. The target companies ranged in size from SEK300 million to SEK5 billion. Prior to Biolin, Ratos was co-investor in magnetic-bead separation expert Dynal, sold in 2005 for $394 million to Invitrogen.

Biolin, itself an investment company, started in 2008 to buy up technology businesses to build a specialist instrument company. Its most recent acquisition, in early 2010, was Farfield Group, an English supplier of Dual Polarisation Interferometry (see IN 2 (4) 4; online 28/3/10). After that, Biolin had 91 staff in seven locations: three in the USA, two in Sweden, and one each in Finland and the UK.

The acquisitions helped Biolin to buck trends in 2009, growing revenues to SEK136.7 million (up 25%) and net earnings to SEK33.5 million (up 44%). For the first nine months of 2010, the company managed to continue its growth momentum, with a turnover of SEK102.4 million and earnings after tax reaching SEK26.0 million. n

BIT Analytical Instruments GmbH (Schwalbach, Germany), a contract development and manufacturing company with a focus on diagnostics technologies, has acquired its competitor in the market for in-vitro diagnostics (IVD), C2 Diagnostics SA (C2D; Montpellier, France), for an undisclosed sum. The deal adds a 10,000 sq ft facility and a workforce of 28 staff with specific expertise in producing custom instrumentation for the haematology market.

Henri and Serge Champseix founded C2D in 2002 after previously launching another haematology company and headed its R&D department for almost 20 years. In the last eight years, C2D has sold over 10,000 instruments to small and mid-sized OEM partners. In addition, the company also covers clinical chemistry, immunology and bacteriology.

With roots in medical instruments R&D at chemical company Hoechst AG in the seventies, BIT became part of the MEC Group, constituted from businesses of Messer Culling & Welding and Castolin + Eutectic Group under the private equity Carlyle group in 2000. Industrial gas specialist Messer Group GmbH (Sulzbach, Germany) bought 51% of MEC’s outstanding shares from Carlyle in 2005 to achieve a stake of 99%.

BIT established its US office in Burlington, MA in 2004, and increased its activities in North

America with the acquisition of 50% of Source Scientific (Irvine, CA) in 2007, which is now run as a manufacturing joint venture. A manufacturing operation in Kunshan, China in 2009 and the foundation of BIT Japan under CEO Hiroshi Mitsumaki in summer last year rounded off the company’s direct representations. Instrument News estimates BIT’s revenues at $40-60 million. n

BIT buys C2 Diagnostics

Contents . . . . . . . . . . . .

News in brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n Gen-Probe buys GTI

Gen-Probe Inc (San Diego, CA), a developer of clinical diagnostics and blood screening products, has bought transplant diagnostics expert GTI Diagnostics Inc (Waukesha, WI) from its equity-firm parent, Riverside Co (Riverside, CO), for $53 million in cash. GIT was founded in 1985 as the for-profit subsidiary of the charity BloodCenter of Wisconsin, based in Milwaukee, WI and sold to Riverside in 2008. The acquisition “[broadens and strengthens] our transplant diagnostics business”, Call Hull, Gen-Probe’s president and CEO, commented. This adds to a number of acquisitions over the last two years, including molecular testing companies Prodesse and Tepnel, while Gen-Probe spun-out Roka Bioscience. n

Equity firm snaps up 95% of Biolin

COMPANY NEWS

LIFE SCIENCESEquity firm gains 95% of Biolin 2

BIT buys C2 Diagnositcs 2

Fluorotechnics sells gel assets 3

Clinical Data divests of IVD unit 3

Illumina stock up on sample prep 5

Agilent partners with BioSystem 5

GENERAL LABORATORYSGS buys UK chemical lab 6

AJ fully integrates IDC 6

Waters builds new MS HQ in UK 6

PEI's IDS unit turns into Excelitas 7

Thermo buys water purification firm 7

A2 Technologies joins Agilent 7

PROCESS AND IN-FIELDB&W opens first EU office 8

InProcess invest in new HQ 8

ATMI acquires partner Artelis 8

FINANCIAL NEWSLife science firms fail to match lab 9

Acquisitions pay off for Biotage 9

GE boosted by equipment sales 10

Enzo gains as margins improve 10

Techne stays flat 10

Recovering markets lift lab firms 11

Weak instrument sales for CyBio 11

Strong sales but AJ's profit slumps 12

HORIBA up on local demand 12

Shimadzu lifts profitability 12

SDI falls to a loss on product mix 12

Prospects good for process firms 13

Renishaw quintuples profits 13

Parker Hannifin raises forecasts 14

Danaher rises on Chinese demand 14

Ametek stays ahead of targets 14

MARKET REPORT Chemicals strong, pharma weak 15

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Appointments 17

February 2011 www.instrumentnews.co.uk www.instrumentnews.co.uk February 2011 . www.instrumentnews.co.uk February 2011 . 3

n Slow takeup of Dionex bid

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc appeared to have hit a snag in its $2.1 billion bid for Dionex Corp, the firm extending its offer of $118.50 per share until the 16th of February, as by mid January it had acquired less 20% of outstanding shares. Might some Dionex share holders think the price was not right? While the pre-merger waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act came to an end on the 10th January, further regulatory hurdles in other jurisdictions still have to be overcome. n

Fluorotechnics Ltd (Gladesville, NSW/Australia), a company developing fluorescence labeling technologies for life science research, has divested its electrophoresis gel technology and the HPE Tower concept for flat top horizontal electrophoresis, to Serva Electrophoresis GmbH (Heidelberg, Germany) for €150,000 ($197,000 at €0.76 = $1), after selling or closing its overseas operations in the last quarter of 2010. “We are in talks with a number of interested parties in further sales of the business’ assets,” Dr James Walker, Fluorotechnics’ CEO, told Instrument News.

Gel Company Inc (San Francisco, CA), acquired by Fluorotechnics in 2008 for $2.2 million, was sold for a cash consideration of $150,000 in October last year to the two original founders, Greg Richardson and Joe Camacho, while the company’s operations in Germany, acquired through the purchase of ETC Elektrophorese-Technik GmbH (Tübingen, Germany) in late 2007 and renamed Gelcompany GmbH, have been closed, with the exception of – at least “for the short

to medium term” – the facilities used to manufacture electrophoresis gels for Serva.

These decisions were caused by “disappointing revenues in the Northern Hemisphere due to the global financial crisis”, said Walker, who had been one of the architects of Fluorotechnics’ expansion drive, aimed at building a wider base for its business and not having to rely on distribution partnerships with international instrumentation partners.

“The board of shareholders decided in early autumn that we had to sell the acquired businesses,” he explained. Four of the company’s directors have left, including a big name in proteomics research, Lars Eric Utterman, and former Eksigent CEO David Weber. In Sydney, the company currently employs one person, while in Tübingen, the 2009 workforce of 50 has been reduced to 10 staff.

Was the writing on the wall for the company when its IPO in October 2008 was overshadowed by the fall of Leeman Brothers the previous month? The

company’s plans began to unravel in earnest, however, after its annual revenues for the year ended the 30th of June 2010 fell 30% short of expectations – at A$3.5 million ($3.0 million at A$1.17 = $1) – after a rights issue a month earlier had been 27% undersubscribed and raised only A$1.6 million.

Walker can, however, take solace from the fact that the company’s fundamental technology, a new family of structurally-related fluorescent molecules from the epicocconone family with unique fluorescence characteristics, will be successful through its overseas distributors, Serva and Gel Company. “In addition, our HPE Tower technology, will continue to be marketed by its new owner, Serva,” he explained. n

Fluorotechnics divests technology assets to Serva after letting go of overseas operations

Clinical Data Inc (Newton, MA), a company developing DNA control systems for novel therapy approaches, has continued to sell off “non-core assets”, by divesting its FAMILION genetic tests for inherited heart diseases and its PGxPredict® tests for drug response predictions to molecular diagnostic expert Transgenomic Inc (Omaha, NE), for approximately $15.4 million, consisting of $6 million in cash with the remainder in notes. The transaction includes the CLIA-certified laboratory operations of Clinical Data. The deal completes the transformation of Clinical Data to a pharmaceutical company and helps the company to further improve its losses.

This transaction “brings a well-established and growing molecular diagnostics business … a substantial and established revenue base, and validated new biomarker assays, along with a talented diagnostic team”, commented Craig Tuttle, Transgenomic’s CEO.

In 2009, Clinical Data sold its Cogenics’

genomics services business to Beckman Coulter and bioassay assets to Intrexon, while it bought Avalon Pharmaceuticals for $10 million. n

Clinical Data sells diagnostics business to Transgenomic

FOR OEM MICROPLATESCALL NOW +44 7768 781660

COMPANY NEWS LIFE SCIENCES

News in brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

www.instrumentnews.co.uk February 2011 .

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Illumina Inc (San Diego, CA), a specialist in sequencing and bead microarray technologies, has acquired Epicentre Biotechnologies Inc (Madison, WI), a supplier of nucleic acid sample preparation reagents, and enzymes for sequencing and microarray applications, for an undisclosed sum. Epicentre’s capabilities in enzyme engineering and reagent development would complement Illumina’s core platform expertise to create a company offering ‘end-to-end” solutions for next-generation sequencing, microarray and real-time polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR) experiments.

Jay Flatley, president and CEO of Illumina, highlighted direct access to Epicentre’s Nextera™ sample preparation kit as “a key component” of the acquisition, as they provide “improvement in library preparation that will translate into greater ease of use, lower costs and faster turnaround times for sequencing applications. Using the Nextera kits, “sequencer-ready libraries from genomic

DNA” can be prepared in less than 15 minutes, requiring 10-100 times less starting DNA than previous methods, according to the company. While the kits were launched just over a year ago, the first version of the kit was geared towards the instruments of Illumina's competitor in the sequencing market, 454 Life Sciences (Roche), followed a month later by an Illumina-compatible set.

Building on its bead microarray technology, and rivaling traditional Affymetrix and Oxford Gene Technologies microarray concepts, Illumina reached a strong market position, bought Solexa and its next-generation sequencing technology in 2006, and has since put in a crisis-defying performance over the last three years, recording virtually uninterrupted gains in market share every quarter. Over the same period, the company invested in the sequencing technologies of Oxford Nanopore Technologies and Avantome, and bought in PCR capabilities with the takeover of Helixis last August (see IN 2 (9) 3; online 10/8/10). With

the HiScan™SQ platform, Illumina also claims to have launched the first system “to integrate microarray analysis and next-generation sequencing in a modular design that can evolve with changing research needs”.

Epicentre was founded in 1987, initially concentrating on the manufacture of restriction enzymes for life science research. It now offers a comprehensive portfolio of kits and reagents for genomics and transcriptomics investigations, and has expanded into the markets for nucleic acid purification and sequencing, gene expression analysis and PCR applications.

In related news, Illumina is to open a Latin America office in Sao Paolo, Brasil, headed by general manager Roberto Braga, at the beginning of February 2011. This adds to foreign commercial offices in the UK (Saffron Walden), China (Shanghai), Japan (Tokyo), Australia (Scoresby/VIC) and Singapore (also a manufacturing site), as well as an extensive network of international distributors. n

Agilent works with BioSystemAgilent Technologies Inc (Santa Clara, CA) has entered into a collaborative agreement with BioSystem Development LLC (Madison, WI), a developer of micro-chromatography technology for life science sample preparation, which will combine BioSystem’s disposable AssayMAP® cartridges with the Bravo automated liquid handling platform from Agilent. The system achieves highly reproducible microliter-scale purification in a parallelised system and was launched at Lab Automation 2011.

BioSystem’s cartridge technology contains a 5µl packed-bed column that accommodates resin from 15-100µm particle sizes and comes in a manual version, which is adapted by the ultra-low dead volume probe syringe to be easily interfaced with automated liquid handling systems for use in a 96-well format. “We worked with Agilent to modify our probe syringe technology to work on their [dispensing] head, as well as our existing cartridges”, Scott Fulton, founder and CEO of BioSystem, told Instrument News. The main advantages for the methods are the speed improvements, the reduction in scale and the high analytical precision, coupled with the ease of automation for purification of biomolecules.

In the manual spin format, the technology works with any automation platform, Fulton

said, citing experience with platforms from Caliper, Gilson and Tecan. Agilent, however, owns exclusive rights to the probe syringe technology for 96-channel systems. “We chose to develop the probe syringe technology with Agilent primarily because of their enormous strength in applications and downstream instrumentation”, such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry (MS), Fulton explained.

Founded in 2002 by Fulton, BioSystem currently employs 15 staff. From November last year, an agreement with BAC BV (Naarden, The Netherlands), a spin-off from Unilever concentrating on affinity purification of biological materials, adds antibody-based affinity purification to the AssayMAP concept, while a partnership with ProZyme Inc (Hayward, CA), a company utilising the Glyko® line of carbohydrate analysis enzymes and reagents from Oxford GlycoSciences, targets the market for biopharmaceuticals with AssayMAP cartridges for the preparation of N-glycans from monoclonal antibodies and other glycoproteins.

BioSystem has been funded by a total of $5 million in angel investment, including $1 million in a round in July last year, with ProZyme president Jo Wegstein being a key contributor. n

n Affymetrix signs up Fisher

Microarray pioneer Affymetrix Inc (Santa Clara, CA) has signed Fisher Scientific, the distribution arm of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (both Waltham, MA), to be North American representative of its GeneAtlas™ system and related consumables. The deal enables Affymetrix to “expand our commercial sales in research markets, while maintaining our focus further downstream in validation and clinical markets”, said Andy Last, Affymetrix’ chief commercial officer. Dan Pantano, president of Fisher Scientific, said that the firm sees the deal as broadening its genomic research portfolio. GeneAtlas was launched in March 2010 with the aim of offering “a complete microarray analysis solution” for biologists, with bench-top hybridisation, fluidics and imaging functionalities at an affordable price. Joyce Davis, Affymetrix’ senior manager for corporate communications, told Instrument News that the GeneAtlas system has a list price of $73,000. The heart of the system is an array strip for four arrays each. In addition, partnerships with Partek Inc (St Louis, MO) and Ariadne Software Ltd (Cheltenham, England) contributed to work-flow driven statistical and pathway analysis software packages for biologically-relevant results. n

Illumina stocks up on sample prep expertise

TECHNOLOGY LIFE SCIENCES

News in brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Spa

rk H

olla

nd

intr

odu

ces

INT

EG

RIT

Y™

Res

etti

ng t

he s

tand

ard

in

LC a

utos

ampl

ing

INTEGRITY™ Resetting the standard in LC autosampling

• Barcode reading of samples and trays

• Injection Performance Monitoring

• Vial bottom detection: effi cient use of

available sample volume

• Advanced wash capabilities to

eliminate carryover

• Dual independent concentric needle

• Integrated sample prep capabilities

Spark Holland B.V.P.O. box 3887800 AJ EmmenThe Netherlands

P. +31 591 631 700F. +31 591 630 035E. info@sparkholland.com

Head Offi ce:P. de Keyserstraat 87825 VE EmmenThe Netherlands

www.sparkholland.com

State-of-the-art injection technology is important, naturally.

And rapid sample turn-around time is very helpful, of course.

Certainly, large sample capacity is very convenient, no doubt.

But this all becomes irrelevant if you have only the slightest

doubts about the integrity of the samples that you injected!

Yet, while injection technology and capacity have seen great

advances over the last 30 years, measures to maintain and

control sample integrity have had little attention from

instrument manufacturers. Until now. The new INTEGRITY™

autosampler from Spark sets a new standard in sample care.

Spark Holland will be showcasing the INTEGRITY™ at

Pittcon (booth # 1161) or visit www.bettersamplecare.com

BET

TER

SA

MP

LE C

ARE

February 2011 www.instrumentnews.co.uk www.instrumentnews.co.uk February 2011 . www.instrumentnews.co.uk February 2011 .6

Teledyne Technologies Inc (Thousand Oaks, CA) has formed a Teledyne Water Quality Group to represent six of its companies providing measurement and analytical solutions for the water industries. Dr Michael Metcalf, vp of business development for Teledyne Water Quality, told Instrument News: "This will enable all six companies to increase their ability to provide integrated solutions and new product platforms that elevate performance and sustainability. The increased focus on the water market will make them work together more.” Metcalf was keen to stress that this did not amount to a restructuring, but was an attempt to make better use of the synergies existing between the parent company’s plethora of different technologies.

The six Teledyne company within the Water Quality group are: Analytical Instruments (measurement and control systems), Isco (water sampling and flow measurements), Leeman Labs (elemental analysis), RD Instruments (current profiling), Webb Research (oceanic instruments) and Tekmar (summarizing parameter measurements). All businesses are part of the Teledyne Instruments division, the umbrella for Teledyne companies developing instruments for the monitoring of manufacturing processes and the environment, and the facilitating of marine exploration. Teledyne Instruments, headed by senior vp and general manager Jim Davis, is itself part of the firm's Electronic & Communications segment, which with over 70% of revenues is the largest contributor to Teledyne’s $1.77 billion annual total.

Most of Teledyne’s companies relevant for the analytical instrument markets are within the Teledyne Instruments division. However, some relevant technologies, such as infrared (IR) detectors from Judson Technologies, are in other segments. In addition, the division encompasses some technologies that are outside Instrument News’ remit. Instrument News estimates Teledyne’s revenues in analytical instruments as making up approximately 35% of its annual revenues. n

Teledyne launches water quality group

Wilmslow near Manchester in England has been chosen to become the site of a new mass spectrometry (MS) headquarters of Waters Corp (Milford, MA), accommodating enhanced R&D facilities, an expanded manufacturing space and customer demonstration laboratories. The company has signed a land-purchase agreement for the site, which will combine four existing MS locations currently runs by Waters to the South of Manchester. The possibility of a development at the 180,000 sq ft Wilmslow site first surfaced almost 12 months ago, though Waters was then still investigating the option of developing one of its existing sites (see IN 2 (4) 7; online 22/2/10).

“Employees working at the four sites to be consolidated will work from Wilmslow once it opens”, Brian Murphy, Waters’ public relations manager for Products & Technologies, told Instrument News. The new site would employ over 500 staff, but the new facility was able to accommodate future growth, he added.

The Manchester sites are the legacy of Waters’ acquisition of Micromass in 1997, which added MS technology to the company’s highly-developed high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) portfolio. Since then, with the SYNAPT® and XEVO® product lines, Waters has expanded its MS portfolio and been one of the leading companies to push the idea of ‘hyphenated technologies’, such as LC-MS, to new levels of performance. While high-volume MS lines and Waters' chemistry products are manufactured in Wexford, Ireland, Manchester is the production site of Waters’ higher-end MS systems, in addition to its MS instrumentation and all-new MS products. Brian Smith, vp of Waters’ MS business operations, commented: “Waters is honored to be able to continue Manchester's long legacy of mass spectrometry innovation.”

The new headquarters is expected to open in 2013, assuming it receives planning and building permission from the local council. n

Waters builds new MS HQ in UK

A large provider of inspection, testing and verification services, SGS SA (Geneva, Switzerland), has acquired the chemical characterisation business of LGC Ltd (Teddington, England), a provider of chemical and biological analytical services and reference materials, for an undisclosed sum. The business, based in Runcore, England, specialises in providing analytical services to the oil, gas, and chemical industries, adding to an existing site of SGS in Ellesmere Port, England.

With eight staff, the Runcorn laboratory had a turnover of more than £750,000 ($1.2 million at £0.64 = $1) in 2010, but Derek Craston, director of LGC’s Science & Technology division, told Instrument News: "With services to the chemicals and oils sector, the business was no longer a ‘good fit’ with the rest of our activities in the UK. We continue to provide standards to all sectors and biological and chemical services to markets such as forensics, genomics, food, pharmaceuticals, sport science and environment."

LGC was acquired by private equity firm Bridgeport for £257 million 12 months ago (see IN 2 (3) 6; online 15/2/10), in order to infuse its service business with investment to consolidate its position and enable “focused acquisitions in the UK and internationally”. This has already resulted in the purchase of HFL Sport

Science Ltd (Fordham, England), described as the “largest independent provider of drug surveillance and doping control”.

SGS, founded over 140 years ago as a grain inspection business, started to diversify into a variety of sectors, including industrial, mining, oil, gas and chemicals, in the middle of the last century. Going public in 1981, the last seven years have seen the firm purchasing over 45 different firms worldwide, from medical, biological and chemical testing firms, to environmental monitoring and inspection service companies. The latest takeover in the field of chemical analysis was M-Scan Group (Wokingham, England), a provider of mass spectroscopy (MS) and chromatography services, in November last year. The 61-strong M-Scan, with outlets in the US, Germany and France, plus a strong network of agents in Korea, India and Singapore, had 2009 revenues of over £6.9 million.

While SGS’ net profit remained constant during the financial crisis at CHF579 million ($562 million at CHF1.03 = $1), on the back of slightly declining revenues (CHF4.71 billion in 2009), income had risen from CHF 371 million in calendar 2005, when the turnover had been CHF3.3 billion. For calendar 2010, the company was able to grow its revenues by 1% to CHF4.76 billion and increased its net profit by 2% to CHF588 million. n

SGS buys LGC’s UK chemical lab

LABORATORY COMPANY NEWS

February 2011 www.instrumentnews.co.uk www.instrumentnews.co.uk February 2011 . www.instrumentnews.co.uk February 2011 . 7

n Mestrelab and picoSpin partner

A developer of miniaturised nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology, picoSpin (Boulder, CO; see IN 3 (1) 7; online 21/12/10), has teamed up with NMR software developer Mestrelab Research SL (Santiago de Compostela, Spain) to offer the picoSpin-45 NMR with a one-year license to Mestrelab’s Mnova software. n

Excelitas Technologies Corp has become the new name of the Illumination and Detection Solutions (IDS) business of PerkinElmer Inc (Waltham, MA), following the 29th of November sale of the unit to equity company Veritas Capital Fund III (New York, NY) for approximately $500 million in cash (see IN 2 (10) 5; online 2/10/10). With approximately 3,000 employees and 13 manufacturing operations in North America, Europe and Asia, the business “will continue to support OEM and aftermarket customers across a diverse range of specialty markets including: medical; analytical instrumentation; clinical diagnostics; industrial; safety and security; and aerospace and defence,” commented CEO David Nislick.

The business had projected 2010 revenues of $300 million. “Due in part to a highly diversified portfolio of products, customers and applications, Excelitas has outperformed our optoelectronics peers in both the recession and the recovery. We experienced a relatively modest decline in 2009, but enjoyed broad-based growth throughout 2010, which allowed us to achieve record revenues”, Francine Bernitz, Excelitas’ director of marketing, told Instrument News.

Bernitz described the relationship with the former parent as “[remaining] strong, and we anticipate continued growth” of OEM business from PerkinElmer and its competitors. Excelitas’ portfolio includes Xenon-based lighting, LED-based lighting, photonic and thermal infrared detectors, emitters, high reliability power sources, energetic safety systems, and precision time standards. Applications had also gone beyond instrumentation to include surgical suite lighting, thermometry, home security systems, climate control systems and space applications, Bernitz said. n

PEI’s IDS unit turns Excelitas

News in brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Thermo Fisher buys EDI water purification company

TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

Just over a week before the close of 2010, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (Waltham, MA) bought an expert in water purification systems, TKA Wasseraufbereitungssysteme GmbH (Niederelbert, Germany), for an undisclosed sum. “This acquisition will enable TKA products to reach a wider geographic market and expands the breadth of our existing portfolio in laboratory water purification systems. For example, to date we have not had water purification technology based on electrodeionisation [EDI], so this is a great addition for us,” Billy McKnight, Thermo Fisher’s vp and general manager for its Laboratory Equipment division, told Instrument News. TKA had 2009 revenues of €10 million ($14.7 million at €0.68 = $1).

The TKA will remain in its current location, which will become a centre for R&D and manufacturing for water purification technology, while the complete management team has joined Thermo Fishers’ laboratory equipment business, said McKnight. “Further investment in the existing facility will be paced according to the planned growth of the acquired product lines”, he explained. Further to EDI, TKA has expertise in reverse osmosis (RO) and ultrafiltration technologies, which have throughputs of 10-100s of litres per hour.

Developing water purification products since 1995, the company experienced average

annual growth rates of 20% until 2008 and doubled its staff numbers to 60 over the last three years. Approximately 43% of the company’s products go into the global market, which TKA addresses via a wide network of distribution partners. TKA also has a direct European office in Tiel, The Netherlands and 2008 opened a facility in Thane, India, which fulfills support, sales and marketing functions.

Thermo Fisher’s current portfolio in water purification, under the Barnstead brand, contains laboratory-scale instruments with a throughput of up to 30 litres per hour. The products came into the company four years ago through the acquisition of Fisher Scientific, which bought it as part of the Apogent takeover in 2004.

With analytical instruments becoming more sensitive and regulatory rules requiring the measurement to ever lower thresholds, the demand for ultrapure water is fueling a growing water purification industry. Early in 2010, three industry giants were rumoured to have been in the fray for Millipore, one of the major providers of water purification systems (amongst other life science technologies). Merck KGaA ultimately succeeded with its $7.2 billion offer (see IN 2 (4) 3; online 21/3/10). Other major players in water purification technologies include Elga, Sartorius and Siemens, with a plethora of smaller providers. n

Agilent Technologies Inc (Santa Clara, CA) has entered into an agreement to acquire specific assets of A2 Technologies Inc (Danbury, CT), a developer of portable and handheld Fourier Transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer technology for out-of-laboratory and routine laboratory applications, for an undisclosed sum. The transaction includes substantially all of A2’s IP, technology, employees and product portfolio.

Mike McMullen, president of Agilent’s Chemical Analysis group, described the deal as a major move to grow the company’s spectroscopy business, acquired through the purchase of Varian, which was completed in May last year ten months after the announcement of the deal. "For A2 Technologies, [becoming part of Agilent] will mean access to the many resources of

Agilent, including their global distribution and support networks, as well as their innovative technology platforms,” said A2 CEO, Jon Frattaroli.

Co-founded in 2006 by Frattaroli, the former president of field-portable FTIR expert SensIR, A2 introduced its first portable instruments in 2007, based on its DialPath technology. This concept dispenses with traditional transmission cells by using a swivel-head containing crystal heads, which can be moved into position to give three different preconfigured pathlengths between 30-250µm. At Pittcon 2008, A2 introduced its ExoScan handheld FTIR spectrometer for nondestructive testing (NDT). Also in 2008, the company established its international office in Perth, Scotland, headed by Graham Miller. n

A2 to become part of Agilent

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PROCESS & IN-FIELD COMPANY NEWS

InProcess Instruments GmbH (IPI; Bremen, Germany), a developer of online gas analysis technology based on mass spectrometer (MS) systems, has moved into an expanded headquarters near Bremen airport, which doubles the company’s previously available floorspace to 1,700 sq m and now accommodates 30 staff. Dr Andreas Pickuth, managing director of InProcess, told Instrument News: “[IPI] is investing in the expansion and modernisation of research and development, production and administration, as well as sales and service in order to meet world-wide demand”. The expansion was laying the ground for “further healthy growth over the coming years”, he added. The company increased staff levels in 2010 by 20% and plans further recruitment for the coming year.

Quadrupole MS technology from Balzers AG, now the process analytical company Inficon, was the starting point for IPI in 1997 and under the leadership of co-founder Wolfgang Hrosch the company has since built a strong customer base in the chemical, pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries, as producers of steel, glass, lamp technology and electronics parts. Its online gas analysis technologies are used for process optimisation for manufacturing processes, as well as in applications in quality control and environmental monitoring. Pickuth replaced Hrosch at the head of InProcess early last year (see IN 2 (3) 17; online 25/2/10).

Although process MS is up to a third more expensive than infrared (IR) spectroscopy

or online gas chromatography (GC), the technology provides real-time data and has become much more robust. It has, however, also been picked up by other instrument suppliers, Pickuth acknowledges. To counter the growing international competition, IPI has branched out into system integration for new application areas and continues its innovative drive into process MS.

While the private company does not release financial data, Instrument News estimates its annual revenues at $7-10 million. n

n RAE settles with SEC

RAE Systems Inc (San Jose, CA), a manufacturer of industrial sensor technology, is to pay close to $3 million, including $1.3 million restitution and interest to settle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and $1.7 million in criminal penalty, to clear itself of allegations of corrupt practices in winning Chinese government contracts. Possibly as a result of the financial turmoil the bribery charges have caused, RAE received a $95 million acquisition offer from equity company Battery Ventures (Boston, MA; see IN 2 (10) 7; online 2/10/10). However, 10 lawsuits have been filed against RAE for allegedly conducting an unfair sales process and agreeing to an unfair price. RAE still expects the deal to be completed in the first three months of 2011. n

n API launches process THz system

Advanced Photonics Inc (API; Ann Arbor, MI), a developer of optoelectronic products, has launched a terahertz (THz) product, the T-Ray 4000®, designed to be used on a factory line for quality and process control. “API is the first company to commercialise THz technology and to deploy it to the factory floor through the use of its patented fiber-coupled transmitter and receivers,” commented Richard Kurtz, CEO of API. The company had annual revenues of $21.1 million in the 12 months to 31st March 2010, down 29% from the previous year, with losses sliding a further $2 million to $3.7 million. Half-year figures for the current year see sales at $13.2 million, up 16%, while losses have more than halved to $0.7 million. Founded in 1988, API currently employs 158 staff. n

ATMI buys longstanding partnerATMI Inc (Danbury, CT), a company developing process technologies for the semiconductor, display and life science industries, has acquired its partner of five years, the cell culture and scale-up specialist Artelis SA (Brussels, Belgium), for an undisclosed sum. A publicly-listed company, ATMI indicated that the deal would dilute earnings-per-share by approximately 2 cents for the next few quarters. The transaction complemented ATMI’s capabilities in ultrapure single-use films, bioreactors and mixing systems for biopharmaceuticals with cell line development and cell culture bioreactors.

The roots of the acquisition go back to 2006, when ATMI and Artelis signed two strategic alliances, which resulted in the asset purchase of Artelis’ Jet-Drive Mixing systems

and Nucleo disposable bioreactor in late 2008. Artelis was founded in 2005 around the iCELLis™ bioreactor, which enables process intensification through reactor volume reduction and simplification of the operation.

Founded in 1987 by Dr Gene Banucci, ATMI established itself as a player in bioreactor technology over the last decade, but found itself suffering due to its focus on the highly cyclical semiconductor industry. Sales into the life science markets contribute less than 10% of its total turnover. In 2009, ATMI’s full year revenues were, at $254.7 million, 25% lower than its figues in the prior year, approaching its results from 2004. In the same period, it also converted 2008'a earnings of $33.3 million into a $6.7 million loss. For the first nine months of 2010, revenues stood at $271.3 million, with net income of $25.7 million. n

InProcess invests in new HQ

B&W Tek Inc (Newark, DE), an OEM manufacturer of optical spectroscopy and laser systems, has opened its first European office in Lübeck, Germany, aiming “to better capitalise on the ever-growing European market”, according to Dr Sean Wang, CEO of B&W Tek. Headed by managing director Daniel Barchewitz, B&W Tek Europe will be “fully staffed to provide the necessary marketing, technical sales and engineering support to our existing channels and distributors as well as develop new business relationships”. This office adds to direct offices in Saitama (Japan) and a manufacturing site in Shanghai, China.

B&W was founded in 1997 and works with light measurement specialist Polytec GmbH (Waldbronn, Germany) as distributor for its German-speaking markets. Barchewitz previously was product manager with Polytec and Coherent Germany.

In related news, and beginning in January 2011, Pacer USA LLC (Palm Beach Gardens, FL), the US subsidiary of Pacer International Ltd (Newbury, England), has become a USA distributor of B&W, adding over 40 additional sales representatives across North America. Pacer USA joins B&W partners Konica Minolta Sensing Americas and Edmund Optics. Pacer International, a supplier of optoelectronic, display and laser solutions, has been a UK partner for B&W for several years. n

B&W opens first EU office

News in brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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LIFE SCIENCES FINANCIALS

LATEST QUARTER YEAR-TO-DATEREVENUES NET EARNINGS REVENUES NET EARNINGS

COMPANY (DIVISION) PERIOD 2010 CHANGE 2010 CHANGE 2010 CHANGE 2010 CHANGE

Biotage (SEK) Q3 109.5 21% 4.7 292% 312.8 6% 14.5 nmEnzo Biochem fQ1 25.7 2% -1.1 -38% nm nm nm nmGE (Healthcare) Q4 5104.0 8% 1002.0 10% 16897.0 6% 2741.0 13%Quest Diagnostics Q4 1824.0 -1% 165.7 -9% 7368.9 -1% 720.9 -1%PSS (¥) fQ1 0.9 -21% 0.0 -98% nm nm nm nmTechne fQ1 67.9 2% 26.4 -1% nm nm nm nm

nm = Not meaningful / ns = Not stated / f = Fiscal year / * Operating earnings / Figures in $ millions unless otherwise stated / ¥ in billions / Changes calculated against prior-year period

Life science firms fail to match growth of lab peers

Producers of life science instrumentation have in the main failed to match the growth of their peers supplying the process or general lab sectors this year, affected by widespread cutbacks in spending from the pharma industry. But the sector has still picked up from the previous year, with sales of the six firms featured in this issue up by an average of 7%.

Fresh from its purchase of the cancer

molecular diagnostics firm Clarient in December, GE Healthcare just edged its third quarter performance in the final period with a strong set of results, driven by double-digit growth in demand for its healthcare equipment.

The growth outpaced that of an improving but still sluggish international healthcare market and GE said it expected the business to help drive growth for its wider industrial segment in 2011. Overall, after the results were better than expected and reflected the breadth and depth of the worldwide economic recovery, according to GE’s chairman and CEO, Jeff Immelt. The situation, he told investors in a conference call, was “a little bit stronger every day”.

Quest Diagnostics continued to struggle against weak demand for its clinical tests, but while both revenues and earnings sank in the fourth quarter, the results topped cautious analyst targets and the company’s stock picked

up by a few percent.Enzo Biochem has been struggling

against rising costs in recent quarters, which have left it chasing profitability and had a disastrous effect on the value of its stock. Nevertheless, the company’s solution – a wholesale company-wide restructuring and consolidation effort – appeared to be paying off in its first fiscal quarter, as losses began to creep back towards breakeven. Investors signalled a cautious encouragement and send its shares up following the announcement … albeit by only a small amount.

Precision System Science, Japanese developer of the patented Magtration® technology, used in its DNA auto-extractors, saw a not-unexpected plunge in its revenues in the first quarter of its new fiscal year, as the demand for products created by the ‘swine flu’ epidemic tailed off, sending sales down by more than a fifth. n

n Quest hit by low test volumes

Shorn of the tax windfall that sent it sailing over targets in the third quarter and despite continued weakness in testing revenues sending profits sliding, diagnostic testing services leader Quest Diagnostics Inc (Madison, NJ) still managed to top conservative Wall Street estimates in the final period of the year. The sluggish market for clinical testing – a side-effect of the recession as large numbers of patients chose to stay away from their doctors – has dogged the firm all year and continued to test both its bottom line and the patience of investors. Revenues were down 1% from the prior year period to $1.82 billion, while earnings slumped by 9% to $165.7 million. Nevertheless, both figures were a fraction higher than the figure expected by most analysts and the value of the company’s stock increased by around 3% following the announcement. While clinical testing volumes are widely predicted to pick up going forward, Quest’s prognosis was for a flat year ahead, with revenues expected to gain only 1%. In an effort to shore up its bottom line and boost profits, the firm announced that it had increased its share repurchase authorisation again, this time by $750 million. It is now looking to buy back $1 billion of its own stock. n

News in brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Acquisitions begin to pay off for BiotageAfter a disappointing first half of the year, Biotage AB (Uppsala, Sweden) rebounded satisfyingly in a very solid third quarter, ended the 30th September 2010, as the company’s plan to boost sales through strategic acquisitions began to pay dividends.

Sales for the period were up 21% year-on-year to SEK109.5 million ($16.4 million at SEK6.68 = $1), a rise of 24% at comparable exchange rates, while earnings almost quadrupled from SEK1.2 million to SEK4.7 million. The firm returned to profit in the second quarter after recording losses in the previous year.

Revenues were boosted by the company’s $16.5 million purchase of the solid phase

extraction and evaporation product lines from Caliper Life Sciences at the end of May last year (see IN 2 (6) 3; online 25/5/10), representing the RapidTrace, TurboVap and related assets, plus its earlier acquisition of MIP Technologies in April (see IN 2 (6) 1; online 17/5/10).

The result easily topped anything the company saw earlier in the year. Even including the double-digit growth of the third period, sales for the year to date were only 6% higher than those of the first nine months of 2009, at SEK312.8 million.

In November, the firm bought back almost nine million shares under its share repurchase programme, announced in April, representing around 10% of its total outstanding stock. n

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FINANCIALS LIFE SCIENCES

n PSS hit by end of flu pandemic

Precision System Science Co Ltd (Osaka, Japan) saw its revenues jump by almost 50% in the last fiscal year as the ‘swine flu’ pandemic caused demand for its genome extractors – particularly from leading customer Roche Group, which nearly doubled its take – to skyrocket. But the epidemic is now firmly last year’s story and as demand returns to normal, PSS warned its investors to expect its sales to slump by as much as 22%. And so it proved in the first quarter of the its new fiscal year – the three-month period ended the 30th of September – as sales dwindled by 21% year-on-year to ¥920 million ($10.9 million at ¥84 = $1) and earnings flatlined, the company generating profits of only ¥3 million compared to ¥129 million in the corresponding period in the prior year. The results put the company on track – if that’s the word – to meet its gloomy predictions, with full fiscal year sales still expected to be 22% lower than those of the prior year, at ¥4.40 billion. n

News in brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Teche stays flatTechne Corp (Minneapolis, MN) continued to grow at the steady but unspectacular levels it experienced throughout fiscal 2010, with sales in its 2011 first fiscal quarter ended the 30th of September increasing by only 2% year-on-year to $67.9 million. Growth would have been closer to 4% without the drag factor of the stronger US dollar, which continued to create headwinds for the company.

Higher cost of sales and a small lift in R&D expenditure hit the firm’s bottom line, and earnings sank a little more than 1%, from $26.8 in the same period in the prior year to a little under $26.4 million in the present period.

The company’s core Biotechnology division, which includes the BiosPacific, the biotechnology part of R&D Systems, and R&D China, topped the comparable quarter in the prior year with sales of $46.7 million, a gain of 6%, but the firm’s R&D Systems Europe division had a less successful quarter, as negative currency effects helped drive sales down 8% to $16.4 million.

At $4.9 million, sales of Techne’s haematology products were 5% ahead of the same period in financial 2009. n

In the fourth quarter of calendar 2010, GE Healthcare Ltd (Chalfont St Giles, England), the healthcare and life science technology business of industrial giant General Electric Co (GE; Fairfield, CT), achieved twice the growth of an already encouraging third period in what the firm’s CFO, Keith Sherin, called “another great quarter”.

Revenues reached $5.10 billion, 8% higher than those of the same period in 2009 and driven by an 11% spike in shipments of healthcare equipment, although demand for medical diagnostics (MDx) products sank by 4%.

Earnings were a little ahead of that growth and improved by 10% to $1.00 billion.

The results topped the 2% overall growth in the global healthcare sector during the period, which was held back to some degree by the strengthening US dollar. Still, orders of equipment produced by GE were a little muted and edged up only 1% in the period related to the prior year, while demand for healthcare services was little better,

improving only 2%. Europe, the Middle East and Africa were the main culprits, with demand from those countries down 5% and offsetting strength from the US, and particularly China and India.

In its most significant single event in the quarter, the company in December completed its acquisition of the oncology-focused molecular diagnostics firm Clarient Inc (Aliso Viejo, CA; see IN 3 (1) 3; online 6/12/10). Although Clarient has yet to turn a profit, with revenues expected to top $110 million last year, GE Healthcare’s $580 million outlay will allow it to develop integrated cancer diagnostic tools incorporating its existing diagnostic imaging technologies, making further inroads into a field that could be worth “$1 billion plus”, it said. The deal was rubber stamped in quick time by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The strong final quarter leaves revenues for the full year up 6% from those of calendar 2009 at $16.90 billion, while earnings were up a solid 13% to $2.74 billion. n

GE Healthcare boosted by strong equipment sales

Enzo encouraged as restructuring lifts marginsA strong services business helped keep Enzo Biochem Inc (New York, NY) stable in the first quarter of its fiscal year ended the 31st of October and while the firm failed to turn a profit once again, aggressive cost-cuts and consolidation measures taken in the previous thee months helped the firm narrow its losses.

Overall revenues for the period were up 2% from those of the corresponding quarter last year, at $25.7 million. This small gain can be laid exclusively at the door of the firm’s clinical laboratory services business, which improved by 12% to contribute $12.4 million of total turnover. This strong performance offset weak product sales, which were affected by Enzo’s moves to shift its focus to more profitable lines. The firm shipped only $10.2 million of instruments to its customers, representing

a 5% decline on the same period in the prior fiscal year.

Nevertheless, the firms’ efforts to consolidate acquisitions made during the past three years –notably Assay Designs, purchased two years ago for $12.2 million (see IN 1 (5) 8) – and focus itself on higher-margin molecular biology technologies, allowed the company to cut its losses by 38% in the period, from $1.8 million to $1.1 million, benefiting from operating costs that were 4% lower than those of the same quarter last year.

The company’s president, Barry Weiner, said that while the repositioning of the firm remained “in the early stages”, the results to date had been “very encouraging”.

In contrast to the dismal performance of its shares in the preceding six months, Enzo’s shares ticked up a little following the announcement. n

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Demand for lower ticket products and consumables has remained strong throughout the year, but manufacturers of higher-cost laboratory instrumentation have seen their customers begin to loosen their purse strings as the year has progressed, helping sales pick up for many firms.

Laboratory consumables giant Corning’s investments in strategic acquisitions were a significant factor in its impressive double-digit growththis year and the firm said that similar growth was expected going forward. The company said that it was well-positioned for growth as the economy continues to pick

up, as is expected.After noting glimmers of recovery in

its domestic markets earlier in the year, HORIBA said that the broader Japanese recovery seemed to have stagnated at the end of the first nine months. Still, for its analytical instruments, local demand was surprisingly robust and the relatively flat result was due more to an appreciating yen, which depressed revenues from international shipments.

CyBio continued to struggle against weak customer demand for its instrumentation last year. The firm’s parent, Analytik Jena, admitted after purchasing it two years ago

that it had underestimated the investment that would be necessary, principally in the development of new products to stimulate sales. Comprehensive cost-cuts were instituted and have benefited earnings, but whether such frugality will be viable for a business in need of so much investment is a question likely to be answered as the present year unfolds.

For Analytik Jena itself, the picture for sales at least was considerably more rosy, as the firm sailed over last year's record result by some 13%, although demand for its analytical instrumentation was only 3% higher than in the previous year. n

Last year was a difficult one for CyBio AG (Jena, Germany), the company reported, as unexpectedly weak demand for the firm’s instrumentation in particular caused its revenues to plunge by almost a third.

CyBio, a subsidiary of Analytik Jena AG (also Jena, Germany) since February 2009 (see IN 1 (1) 5), recorded revenues of only €11.4 million ($14.8 million at €0.77 = $1) for its fiscal year ended the 30th of September 2010, a 30% decline on those of the previous year. At €4.0 million, sales of instrumentation were 10% lower than in fiscal 2009 and “failed to meet expectations by some distance”, it said, although demand for pipette consumables was better than expected, with sales reaching €2.9 million as that business “continued to enjoy positive development”.

Stringent efforts to streamline its cost base – instituted by Analytik Jena, which said that it had made “many strategic misjudgements” in its purchase of the firm – allowed operating earnings to increase by a fifth to €0.6 million. However, CyBio’s CEO, Udo Werner, warned that the firm needed to prove whether such a low level of spending was sustainable going forward, particularly with the development of new products as its main imperative. CyBio ended the fiscal year with only €2.1 million in the bank.

“As before, our greatest challenge will be to realise our ambitious plan for the development of new, marketable products in order to find our footing once again in the key instruments business in particular”, Werner told investors. n

Weak instrument sales for CyBion Record product sales drive NVE

‘Spintronics’ sensor specialist NVE Corp (Eden Prairie, MN) reported “strong earnings” driven by “record product sales” for its third calendar quarter ended the 31st of December, according to the company’s president and CEO, Daniel Baker. The firm recorded revenues of $8.0 million for the period, representing a 20% gain on the same period in the previous year. Earnings growth matched this, improving by 22% to $3.4 million. Product sales were up 26% at around $7.96 million, although contract research and development revenues sank by 4%. The company stock gained around 4% following the announcement. n

Recovering markets a boon for laboratory suppliersLATEST QUARTER YEAR-TO-DATE

REVENUES NET EARNINGS REVENUES NET EARNINGSCOMPANY (DIVISION) PERIOD 2010 CHANGE 2010 CHANGE 2010 CHANGE 2010 CHANGE

Analytik Jena (€) fQ4 ns ns ns ns 80.2 13% 1.8 37% (Analytical Solutions) (€) fQ4 ns ns ns ns 47.8 3% 1.5 58% (Life Science) (€) fQ4 ns ns ns ns 27.5 54% 0.1 nmCorning (Life Sciences) Q4 140.0 20% 12.0 20% 508.0 39% 60.0 54%CyBio (€) Q4 ns ns ns ns 11.4 -30% 0.6* 20%HORIBA (¥) Q3 ns ns ns ns 82.7 14% 5.08 289% (Analytical Instruments) (¥) Q3 ns ns ns ns 23.2 2% 1.1* 52%NVE fQ3 8.0 20% 3.4 22% 23.0 15% 9.7 15%SDI (£) fQ2 ns ns ns ns 3.5 2% -0.2 nmShimadzu (Analytical) (¥) fQ2 ns ns ns ns 62.2 7% 3.8* 80% (Medical) (¥) fQ2 ns ns ns ns 23.2 0% -0.3* 1012%

nm = Not meaningful / ns = Not stated / f = Fiscal year / * Operating earnings / Figures in millions; ¥ in billions / Changes calculated against prior-year period

News in brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

GENERAL LAB FINANCIALS

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FINANCIALS GENERAL LAB

SDI falls to a loss on product mix

After deteriorating margins plunged it into the red in the first quarter of its fiscal year, despite the headwind of a recovering Japanese economy that helped drive sales up in the double digits, Shimadzu Corp (Kyoto, Japan) managed to rebound strongly in the next three months and achieved consolidated earnings for the whole first half that were more than double those of the corresponding period in the previous year. Nevertheless, both the firm’s Analytical and Medical segments tailed a little behind that level of growth.

Overall, for the six months ended the 30th of September, the firm’s sales were up 11% year-on-year to reach ¥117.08 billion ($1.39 billion at ¥84 = $1). Net earnings were even more impressive and increased from ¥1.20 billion to ¥2.79 billion.

For the company’s Analytical and Measuring Instruments business, sales improved by 7% in the period to ¥62.20 billion, generating operating earnings of ¥3.79 billion, an 80% improvement on the prior year.

The Medical Systems segment was less impressive, with sales flat year-on-year at ¥23.22 billion and an operating loss of ¥26.0 million, although the latter was an improvement on the ¥289.0 million losses recorded in the prior year period. n

Shimadzu lifts profitability

For the last quarter of the firm's fiscal year, which ended on the 30th of September, Analytik Jena AG (AJ; Jena, Germany) saw growth of 21% over the prior-year quarter, for sales of €20.6 million ($26.8 million at €0.77 = $1), although its earnings were almost decimated to €600,000. Earnings for the same period in 2009 had been €3.5 million.

For the whole year, however, the company was able to trump the previous year's “record sales” by 13% to reach €80.2 million, while it saw its pretax earnings more than halve to €3.1 million from the €6.3 million of fiscal 2009. Net earnings were €2.1 million, which was around €1.0 million higher than the previous year.

The Analytical Instruments division saw only 3% growth from the record results achieved in financial 2009, reaching €47.8 million in sales. By contrast, the

Life Sciences division saw its revenues jump by 54% to €27.5 million, pushing its contribution to the firm's turnover to 34%, while Analytical Instruments' contribution dropped a little to 60%. Sales for the Optics division decreased by 26% to €4.9 million.

By geography, the German market increased in importance for AJ (up 1% to 34%, or €27.0 million), as did the European countries outside Germany (at 25%, a 2% increase, or €20.1 million), while Asian countries contributed more to the company results, but lost in overall importance (€24.9.million: down 2% to 31%). The Americas slid slightly in both categories (down 1% to €6.5 million, or 8% of revenues).

At the end of the year, the company employed 796 staff, an increase of 3%, while R&D expenses were up by 15% to €7.7 million (10% of turnover). n

Charge-coupled device specialist Scientific Digital Imaging plc (SDI; Cambridge, England), which contains the Syngene, Synbiosis and Syncroscopy businesses, registered a loss for the first half of its new fiscal year, despite stable markets and the launch of a number of new products.

For the six months ended the 31st of October, sales were up 2% year-on-year to £3.5 million ($5.6 million at £0.63 = $1), but an unexpected shift in product mix towards lower margin instruments drove losses to £191,000, compared with earnings of £111,000 for the corresponding period the year before.

The company, which ended the period with only £224,000 in the bank, said that it expected lower losses and cash-burn, and an overall stronger performance in the second half of the year, although full-year earnings were likely to be below its original forecasts.

SDI had been looking to boost growth this year through strategic acquisitions of digital imaging firms, but saw no luck on that front to date. “Sadly, a number of the acquisition targets we have pursued have not come to fruition for a variety of reasons,” commented chairman, Harry Tee, although he said that the firm expected to have bagged “at least one” suitable candidate by the end of 2011. n

After an encouraging start, HORIBA Ltd (Kyoto, Japan) said that any recovery in the Japanese economy appeared to have faltered in the third quarter of the year.

Still, over the full nine months, domestic demand for its analytical instrumentation was surprisingly robust – growing 9% year-on-year – and benefiting early on from strong government spending and in later months from a pickup in private-sector sales.

Currency headwinds from an appreciating yen hit international shipments, however, as did the dwindling of government stimulus funds in the US and Europe, and nine-month sales of the company’s Analytical Instruments and Systems segment were up only 2% year-on-year to ¥23.17 billion ($276.9 million at ¥83.67 = $1). Operating income improved by 52% to ¥1.14 billion, however.

HORIBA now expects sales of analytical instruments to reach ¥31.50 billion for the whole twelve-month period. n

HORIBA up on local demand

n Corning expects further growth

Acquisitions – of Axygen Biosciences in September 2009 (see IN 2 (1) 8) and the French lab plastics firm Plastiques Gosselin at the end of 2010 – continued to be the main drivers of growth for the Life Sciences segment of Corning Inc (Corning, NY) in last year’s fourth quarter; and this growth was significant, with sales up 20% year-on-year to $140.0 million or a sequential increase of 12%. Earnings for the segment grew by the same amount to reach $12.0 million. Over the course of the year, the segment’s revenues swelled by 39% from those recorded in 2009 to reach $508.0 million, while earnings lifted 54% to $60.0 million. In the upcoming first quarter of 2011, Corning said that it expected sales to “increase slightly sequentially”, but year-on-year growth should match that of the fourth quarter, at around 20%. n

News in brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Strong sales but AJ's profit slumps

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Prospects look good for process analysis firmsLATEST QUARTER YEAR-TO-DATE

REVENUES NET EARNINGS REVENUES NET EARNINGSCOMPANY (DIVISION) PERIOD 2010 CHANGE 2010 CHANGE 2010 CHANGE 2010 CHANGE

Ametek (Electronic Instruments) Q4 377.8 32% 90.4* 61% 1324.1 15% 316.2* 36%Coherent fQ1 183.1 49% 19.1 357% nm nm nm nmDanaher (Environmental) Q4 751.7 7% 166.3* 31% 2738.0 13% 564.3* 20%Parker Hannifin (Industrial) fQ2 2192.7 23% 327.2* 66% 4350.6 27% 700.4* 109%Princeton Security Q4 1.0 77% 0.2 5% ns ns ns ns

Renishaw fQ2 69.2 67% 20.4* 300% 129.3 75% 35.5* 400%Teradyne Q4 322.2 21% 60.1 255% 1608.7 96% 379.7 nm

nm = Not meaningful / ns = Not stated / f = Fiscal year / * Operating earnings / Figures in $ millions unless otherwise stated / ¥ in billions / Changes calculated against prior-year period

As the recession has eased throughout the year, the rebound in the manufacturing and industrial sectors has been mirrored by a similar bounce-back in demand for process analytical instrumentation, with many firms reporting revenues more than a third higher than those recorded in the previous year. Last year’s cost-cuts and streamlining initiatives provided additional traction for earnings as sales recovered.

The fourth quarter was no exception and provides further evidence that the recovery is here to stay. Indeed, the seven firms producing process analytical instruments quoted in this issue grew product sales by an average of 22% in the period. Prospects for 2011 also look promising and the optimism was palpable in investor presentations and the reported guidance of many firms in the sector.

Parker Hannifin’s unexpectedly healthy performance was seen by many observers

as a clear sign of the lasting strength of the industrial recovery, while companies such as Ametek and Teledyne also saw sales lift in the double digits as customers continued to loosen their purse strings. Coherent’s strong results prompted it to raise its guidance for 2011, while the enviable thickness of its wallet at the end of last year has set it on the hunt for appropriate strategic acquisitions.

Danaher’s moves to focus on emerging markets appeared to be paying off, as strong Chinese demand for its environmental measurement and water quality instrumentation proved to be a great driver of growth. China now makes up around 10% of the sales of the company’s core Hach Lange business.

Security screening giant Smiths Detection said that government orders continued to be delayed in the first quarter of its fiscal year, as airports await new cargo regulations and military spending is constrained. n

When David McMurtry, the chairman and CEO of Renishaw plc (Wotton-under-Edge, England), pronounced himself “delighted” last year despite a 28% fall in revenues, on account of a halving of the company’s loss during the first six months of the company’s financial year, he had every reason to be delighted now, as the metrology-heavy company improved its sales for the first six months to £129.3 million ($202.0 million at £0.64 = $1) and reported an operating profit of £35.5 million. Figures for the second quarter were as strong as those of the first period, with operating profit quadrupling to £20.4 million on sales of £69.2 million, an increase of 67%.

In the six-month period, metrology sales almost doubled to £120.5 million from £65.9 million in the previous year, while the Healthcare division saw its sales improved by 11% to £8.9 million.

The recovery was led by sales to markets in Asia, which more than doubled to £54.1 million, followed by sales to continental Europe (up 38% to £36.1 million) and the Americas (up 40% to £28.7 million). The markets in the UK and Ireland stagnated at £6.6 million, as did markets in the rest of the world, which reached £3.8 million.

At the end of 2010, the company employed 2,280 staff, up from 2,099 in the previous year, and with 248 vacancies, 161 of which were in the UK. n

Renishaw quintuples profits

n Smiths affected by order delays

In an interim management statement for its first fiscal quarter ended the 30th of October, Smith Group plc said that despite high business enquiries and tender activity, revenues from its Smiths Detection (both London, England) security screening subsidiary were lower than those in the same period in the previous year. “Some large orders from various government agencies have been delayed”, the company reported. While orders of its airport security screening equipment are likely to suffer delays until the confirmation of new air cargo regulations, Smiths said that military sales should pick up in the second half of the fiscal year, when it plans to release a next-generation chemical agent detector, an instrument designed for the US Department of Defense’s Join Chemical Agent Detection (JCAD) programme. Still, revenues for the first six months of the new fiscal year are likely to be “close” to those of a year ago, the company concluded. n Princeton previews 2010 results

In its preliminary results for the fourth quarter of calendar 2010, Princeton Security Technologies Inc, the Nevada-based holding company for Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments Inc (Princeton, NJ), reported that it almost doubled its revenues from $535,930 to $950,000. For the same period, the company anticipates a net income of $170,000, compared to a loss of $162,217 in 2009. n

News in brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PROCESS & IN-FIELD FINANCIALS

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PROCESS & IN-FIELD

Parker Hannifin raises forecasts

n Teradyne tops forecasts inQ4

Shares of Teradyne Inc (North Reading, MA) spiked by around 13% following the release of the firm’s fourth quarter results, which beat Wall Street targets and capped a year in which its sales had almost doubled from those reported in 2009, when its core semiconductor manufacturing market was languishing in one of its periodic slumps. For the fourth quarter, the firm’s revenues were up 21% year-on-year to $322.2 million, while earnings improved from $16.9 million to $60.1 million. For the full twelve months, revenues of $1.61 billion were 96% above the $819.4 million of the previous year and the firm rebounded back into a profit of $379.7 million, after 2009’s $133.8 million loss. It had been “a tremendous year”, said Teradyne’s president, Mike Bradley, and “positive trends in electronic end markets” prompted the firm to raise its guidance for its upcoming first quarter, expecting sales of $350-375 million. n Coherent stock rises on results

For its first fiscal quarter ended the 1st of January, photonics specialist Coherent Inc (Santa Clara, CA) topped the expectations of analysts with another set of strong results, and said that with record bookings and recent new business wins – including a single order worth $32 million – left it expecting further strength in 2011. Overall sales gained a whopping 49% on those of prior year period to reach $183.1 million, while earnings followed a similar path to many of its peers in gaining significantly, from $4.2 million to $19.1 million, as earlier efforts to streamline costs in the depths of the recession now allowed margins to blossom as demand returned. With the completion of the acquisition of laser specialist and biomedical imaging firm Hypertronics Pte Ltd (Singapore, Singapore), plus “record orders [and] record backlog”, in the words of Coherent’s president and CEO, John Ambroseo, the next year looks bright for the firm. The company raised its guidance for 2011 and now expected revenues to reach $760-780 million, well ahead of Wall Street targets and music to the ears of its investors, who sent its shares up as much as 13% following the announcement. Ambroseo stated that the company planned to use some of its $297 million in working capital it found itself with at the end of the quarter “on targeted acquisitions” and in the repurchase of $75 million of its own common stock over the next twelve months. n

Along with many of its peers, Ametek Inc (Paoli, PA) has seen demand for its process analytical instrumentation rebound significantly as the wider industrial sector – most dramatically in semiconductor manufacturing – has lifted inexorably out of recession, a fact that this year has allowed it to consistently top Wall Street expectations. The strength of the firm’s recent performance can be seen in the progress of its stock, which has gained more than a fifth in value in less than three months.

The fourth quarter of calendar 2010 was no exception, as the firm recorded strong double-digit growth for its Electronic Instruments Group – home of its process instrumentation – beating previous records for the quarter. Sales were 32% higher than those of the corresponding quarter

in 2009, reaching $377.8 million and benefiting from a recovery in demand from the oil and gas markets, plus continuing strength in demand for process instruments.

The acquisition of Atlas Materials Testing Technology LLC (Chicago, IL), a developer of equipment for simulating wear and corrosion purchased for around $159 million in November from a private equity firm, also boosted growth, Ametek said. The purchase is expected to add around $85 million to its sales in 2011.

Last year’s cost cuts boosted margins and earnings were stronger yet, rising 61% year-on-year to $90.4 million.

The company said that it expected growth to continue going forward, albeit at a lower level than in 2010. n

Ametek stays ahead of targets

Parker Hannifin Corp (Cleveland, OH) ended 2010 “ahead of where [it] expected to be”, according to its president and CEO, Don Washkewicz, as the high levels of demand seen earlier in the year continued in its second fiscal quarter, resulting in a “significant” increase in sales.

In the period, which ended the 31st of December, sales of the firm’s combined North American and International industrial businesses were up more than 23% from those of the same period in the prior year and reached $2.19 billion, with roughly

equivalent growth from both sectors. Operating earnings were up 66% to $327.2 million.

Orders were also strong, up 26% for North America and 29% internationally.

After the quarter’s unexpectedly strong overall performance, which exceeded the levels expected by most Wall Street analysts, the company increased its earnings forecasts for the full fiscal year. Still, a slight decline in profit margins appeared to have scared some investors and the firm’s share price slipped by around 6%. n

News in brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Strong Chinese demand for the environmental analysis products of Danaher Corp (Washington, DC), such as the Hach Lange range of water analysers, drove growth in the fourth quarter of calendar 2010.

At $751.7 million, sales of products for environmental measurement were 7% higher than those of the same period in the previous year – lower than growth from the company’s other product divisions – although operating earnings were strong and improved by 31% to $166.3 million, as earlier restructuring initiatives to cut costs boosted margins.

Demand for its water analysis products was up in the “low double-digits”, with Hach, Trojan and ChemTreat all up more than 10%.

For the full year, environmental product sales were up 13% year-on-year to $2.74 billion, with operating income up 20% to $564.3 million. Hach Lange was responsible for over $1 billion of this total, more than $100 million of which came from customers in China. Nevertheless, Danaher’s president and CEO, Lawrence Culp, told investors that instrument shipments were strong in all geographies, and to both the laboratory and process markets.

Danaher continued its acquisitive ways in the quarter, adding the aquatic optical sensor firm Satlantic Inc (Nova Scotia, Canada), and increasing its investment in the Japanese water and process analyser firm DKK-TOA Corp to just over 33%. n

Danaher rises on Chinese demand

FINANCIALS

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While the chemical industry continued its strong upward surge in last year’s third calendar

quarter, evidence of the ever strengthening economy, the pharmaceutical industry began to falter under the effects of the ever increasing encroachment on its business of generic drugs, as the widely-anticipated patent ‘cliff’ becomes a decidedly unwelcome reality.

After US economic growth halved to little more than 2% from the first to the second quarters of last year, the third period was a little better, as the US economy picked up by 2.6% from the same period in the prior year. However, this was lower than many had expected; some analysts had been hoping for something closer to 3%.

While businesses continued to build up inventories after widespread spending caution – & any uptick in spending from industry is, needless to say, good news for manufacturers of laboratory equipment and consumables of all kinds – the broader economic picture was not quite as rosy and estimates of consumer spending growth in the period were revised downwards by the US Department of Commerce, to only 2.4%.

The US economic rebound remained steady, but slow, with the weak housing market in particular continuing to dig in its heels, holding back the wider recovery.

Venture capital activity during the quarter was also worryingly low and the amount of money raised across all sectors was 31% lower than that of the second quarter, at only $4.8 million and 780 deals. Despite making up four of the top ten largest funding rounds, biotech firms raised just $944 million in the period, down 32% on the second quarter. However, this was the second highest amount raised by sector and analysts were in the main cautiously optimistic about its near-term prospects.

What does all this mean going forward? For the US Federal Reserve at least, while there were some encouraging signs – for example, an improvement in real gross

domestic product from 1.7% in the second to 2.6% in the third quarter, including a $121.4 billion increase in inventories by private businesses, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis – it was a signal that growth was likely to remain in the slow lane. Manufacturers shouldn’t hope for a fast track out of the recession.

Chemicals still strongAfter the spectacular gains of the second quarter for the chemical industry, the third period saw further strong gains for most firms worldwide, providing further evidence that the recovery of the year-to-date was no flash in the pan and that last year’s disastrous slump – in which the vast majority of leading firms saw demand vanish and sales plummet – was well behind it.

The results were particularly welcome in light of the caution demonstrated in the predictions of chemical firm management and industry analysts, who had warned that the recovery of the first half should not be taken as a guarantee of further growth in the remainder of the year.

Double-digit percentage growth for both sales and earnings was common among the key players in Europe and the US, as recovering demand was given a further shine by the slimmed-down cost structures of an industry that had been prudent with its pruning of costs during last year’s doldrums.

According to figures from leading chemical industry publication, Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), sales of the 22 top US-based manufacturers of chemicals surged by 13% in the third quarter, while earnings beat even this, gaining more than 50% on the same period in 2009. This failed to match the 21% spike in sales and almost 90% spike gain in earnings of the second quarter or the even stronger figures from the first period, but the gains were encouraging in that the results of many firms demonstrated that the recovery in demand for chemicals was beginning to finally bite in the European

and US markets.Industry market leader Dow Chemical

managed to double its earnings to $705 million, keeping on track with the strong bounce-back it had previously demonstrated in its second quarter results, while improvements in demand from customers in North America, Europe and emerging markets kept its sales growing, despite losing some revenues after the sale of its diversified plastics business, Styron, in June.

Increased demand for its products allowed DuPont’s sales to spike by more than 17% and despite sluggish license revenues, the firm managed to stay ahead of Wall Street targets. European firms were not left behind and also performed well, with companies such as BASF and Bayer both achieving double-digit growth in sales and earnings for the period.

Japanese chemical firms also had a happy quarter, with many firms that spent last year languishing in the red – such as Mitsubishi Chemical, Mitsui, Sumitomo Chemical and Teijin – rebounding back into profit as earnings soared across the board.

Despite continuing weakness in demand from customers in the US and Japan, and some worries about the health of the Chinese economy, exports for many firms were reported as solid to other markets.

According to business analysts PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), M&A activity in the global chemical industry exhibited “strong momentum” in the third quarter, with the value of all relevant deals reaching $66.6 billion for the three-month period. This was 20% higher than the total value of all the mergers and acquisitions undertaken in the sector in the whole of 2009, meeting the targets of most market observers.

The overall value was undeniably skewed by the announcement of the upcoming mega-merger between Potash Corp and BHP Billiton PLC, worth a startling $39.8 billion, and without that extraordinary acquisition, the overall dollar amount would have been around

Chemical sector surges, but pharma stumbles

FEATUREMARKETS

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INSTRUMENT NEWS

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$27.6 billion. Two other deals with a value of more than $1 billion each were also announced in the period, these being the $4.75 billion acquisition of JNFL by a multi-firm investment group in Japan, which completed in September, and the intended purchase of Australia’s AWB Ltd by the Canadian firm Agrium Inc in August, worth some $1.10 billion.

While the dollar figure for the third quarter burst through the roof, the overall number of deals increased, but by a less spectacular amount. There were 266 deals announced in the period compared to 244 for the third quarter of 2009, of which 22 had disclosed values of more than $50 million. With the average deal valued at some $90 million compared with $82 million in 2009, the market appears to be begging to trend back towards more substantial purchases; a trend, said PwC, that could be expected to continue in 2011 as the sector continues to rebound.

The figures, PwC analysts said, were a reflection of “the general improvement in the economy, increased profitability within the chemicals sector, as well as an emerging trend of companies placing greater emphasis on growing core operations via complementary acquisitions and strategic integration”. With capital markets more liquid, it was also becoming increasingly easy to finance deals.

Pharma feels the pinchWhile the chemical industry basked in the strength of its recovery, the results from the pharmaceutical industry were evidence of the quite different structure and pressures of that particular sector, as generics competition continued to savage the sales of cornerstone products, now bereft of patent protection. And worse is yet to come as more key products fall off the patent cliff, prompting preemptive and savage cost-cutting measures at many firms, including further workforce reductions. For many observers, the writing is on the wall for the industry in its present state; a rethink of the way firms have traditionally done business

is looking increasingly necessary.Still, the heavy-duty and ruthless

pruning of costs and staff engaged in by all major players in the sector over the last year continued to pay dividends, as bottom-line earnings were, once again, looking to be in considerably better shape than top-line growth. Firms such as Pfizer, Novartis and Abbott all saw double-digit earnings growth and despite weakness from major players such as GlaxoSmithKline – hit by a 2% drop in profits as generics competition and falling demand for its pandemic flu drug ate into sales – and AstraZeneca, which saw earnings slump by 27% as margins were slashed by restructuring and legal costs, and competition from generics.

But the figures were a little deceptive. While Pfizer basked in a spectacular more than 39% increase in sales compared to the third quarter of 2009, this also included sales from the firm’s giant merger with Wyeth from 2009. On a comparable basis, the drug firm’s results were more of the order of the less-than-sterling Merck & Co and AstraZeneca, with sales that were around 4% down on the prior year. And worse is certain to be ahead for the firm, as it looks forward –if that phrase can be used when one is about to drop off a cliff – to this November, when its leading cash cow, Lipitor, the world’s best-selling drug, comes off patent in the US.

Overall, the big pharma firms saw sales improve by an average of 7%, while earnings spiked by some 19%, according to figures from C&EN.

Sales of biotechnology firms displayed a similar overall pattern to their pharmaceutical cousins, with turnover rising by a little over 7% on average. Earnings were flat or even a little down on the prior year, however. Strong growth from firms such as Celgene and Cephalon, which were both up by almost a third, were balanced against more modest growth from their peers, such as Amgen and Genzyme, which is still in the throes of battling a hostile takeover from a hungry Sanofi-Aventis.

Nevertheless, Biotech firms still had the power to attract the cash of investors and the sector as a whole posted its strongest performance in a number of years in the quarter. According to the life science venture capital firm Burrill & Co, biotech stock gained around 13% over the three months, compared to only 7.7% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The figure was easily the strongest of the year to date, which has seen biotech stock lift by around 6% over the nine-month period. Initial Public Offering (IPO) activity was also strong, with three firms declaring their intention to go public, and the sector raised some $1.33 billion in venture capital and $9.61 billion in partnership deals.

Other marketsThe semiconductor industry rebound has surpassed almost all expectations, but after a year of surging growth, the engine of recovery may finally be starting to run out of steam. Nevertheless, the sector has not merely climbed back to the heights of more than two years ago, but has surpassed even those peaks.

During last year’s third period, SEMI, the global trade association for the semiconductor industry, reported semiconductor manufacturing equipment booking of $12.39 billion, representing a 113% increase from the third quarter of 2009. Demand from Europe led the pack internationally, with booking up 265%, while Taiwan and Korea, the world’s largest manufacturers of microelectronics, were up 122% and 227%, respectively.

Based on the figures and on the continued softness in consumer demand in the wider economy, the market research firm iSuppli cut its original estimates of full-year semiconductor revenue growth from 35% to 32%, expecting the fourth quarter to be roughly flat or even a little down compared to the third period. While still up substantially from the same period last year, this would be the first sequential decline in the sector since the market bottomed out in the final quarter of 2008. n

FEATURE MARKETS

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Imaging the businessof instrumentation

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INSTRUMENT NEWS

Appointments

Editor's pick . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

APPOINTMENTS PEOPLE

n Agilent Technologies

Dr TACHI YAMADA, president of the Global Health Program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has been appointed to the board of directors of Agilent Technologies Inc (Santa Clara, CA). Yamada previously held R&D positions at GlaxoSmithKline and its predecessor SmithKline Beecham.

n ATMI

ATMI Inc (Danbury, CT) has appointed DOUG NEUGOLD, the CEO and president of the company, as the chairman of the board of directors, in addition to the positions already held. He succeeds Dr Gene Banucci, founder of ATMI, who he replaced as CEO and president in 2005.

n Dionex

WES RAWLINS has resigned from his position as global marketing communications manager of Dionex Corp (Sunnyvale, CA). He is replaced by JASMINE GRUIA-GRAY, vp of marketing.

n FEI

ROB FASTENAU has left his position of executive vp marketing and technology at FEI Co (Hillsboro, OR), which he held since 2004, to become dean at the faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science at the Delft University of Technology.

n GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare Ltd (Chalfont St Giles, England) has promoted KONSTANTIN FIEDLER as Clarient Integration leader, following the company’s acquisition of the cancer diagnostics specialist in December (see IN 3 (1) 3; online 6/12/10). Previously, he was general manager of GE Healthcare’s Cell Technologies activities.

n Ibsen Photonics

Ibsen Photonics S/A (Farum, Denmark) has appointed HENRIK SKOV ANDERSEN as its president and CEO. The former McKinsey consultant replaces TORBEN

JACOBSEN, who announced his retirement three years ago. Jacobsen will continue to hold his current position on the board of directors of the company. This follows the majority acquisition of Ibsen by Foss A/S (Hillerød, Denmark) in August last year (see IN 2 (9) 5; online 29/8/10).

n InVitria

InVitria Inc (Fort Collins, CO) has appointed SHAWN SMITH as vp sales & marketing. Smith joins the company from Thermo Fisher Scientific, where for almost two years he was the global sales director of the company’s HyClone products. He joins a management team under Scott Deeter, president and CEO of InVitria.

n LipoScience

DOMINIQUE BALY has been appointed management responsibilities for marketing, sales and service for the laboratory business of Sartorius Group (Göttingen, Germany). Baly joins the six-strong management team, headed by chairman and CEO Dr Joachim Kreuzburg, after a 35-year career in sales and managerial positions in the international laboratory field, most recently as president of Millipore, which was acquired by Merck KGaA in March 2010 (see IN 2 (4) 3; online 21/3/10).

n Mobius Photonics

KIYOMI MONRO has been promoted from his position of vp of business management to become CEO of Mobius Photonics Inc (Mountain View, CA). He replaces Robert Mortensen, who was CEO for the past 16 months. n

New CEO for chapter 11 company

JOHN ROUSH has become CEO of the GSI Group (Bedford, MA) after 12 years with PerkinElmer, most recently as president of the company’s Environmental Health business. Roush succeeds MICHAEL KATZENSTEIN, who had been interim CEO since May 2010, as GSI Group underwent Chapter 11 reorganisation. n

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FEATURE TRADE REPORT

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