Life Technologies to Buy Biotech Firm

Life sciences firm Life Technologies announced Tuesday it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire BioTrove. The transaction amount was not disclosed. BioTroves primary technology is the OpenArray platform, a high throughput gene expression and genotyping analysis system based on a flexible array format that enables researchers to perform more than 3,000 PCR genotyping or qPCR gene expression assays at a time. The acquisition furthers a collaboration Applied Biosystems (a Life Technologies subsidiary) entered into with BioTrove in 2007. Applied Biosystems at that time assumed responsibility for commercializing the OpenArray business for genotyping applications. The deal is subject to customary closing transactions and is not expected to materially impact Life Technologies financials in fiscal 2009.