Peaks of Interest
Varian acquires Polymer Labs, Thermo contributes to Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Fund, and French Police select Whatman for DNA collection.
Varian acquires Polymer Labs
Varian, Inc. (Palo Alto, California) recently announced that it has acquired PL International, Ltd. (Shropshire, United Kingdom), and its subsidiaries including Polymer Laboratories, Ltd. (Amherst, Massachusetts) for approximately $42 million in cash. The transaction includes an opportunity for up to $23 million of additional payments over three years, depending upon financial performance.
Polymer Laboratories develops of consumables and instrumentation for advanced polymer analysis, including columns, standards, and specialist chromatography systems dedicated to gel permeation chromatography analysis.
Laboratory Information Management Systems
"The acquisition of Polymer Laboratories is strategic to the advancement of Varian's goal to grow the applications-based consumable products to become a larger portion of the business," said Garry W. Rogerson, president and CEO of Varian.
The acquisition is part of the company's strategy to strengthen its product portfolio with internal research and development efforts and strategic acquisitions of complementary products and technologies.
Thermo contributes to Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Fund
Thermo Electron (Waltham, Massachusetts) recently has announced that it will match employee contributions to the Red Cross in support of the Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund. During the days following the disaster, the company's employees contributed money, food, water, medicines, and other relief to help the evacuees and those remaining in the affected areas.
French Police select Whatman for DNA collection
Whatman (Florham Park, New Jersey) recently announced that the French Police and French Gendarmerie Nationale have chosen the company's Indicating FTA Cards for the collection and transportation of buccal cell samples for forensic investigations. This agreement extends the relationship that began in 2000, when France first implemented a comprehensive database for the storage of criminal DNA.
"When our samples are collected and sent to our laboratories for processing, we need to be completely confident that the samples will maintain their integrity throughout the transportation process," said Captain Frederic Brard, head of the High Throughput Laboratory of the Gendarmerie Nationale. "After evaluating several products for DNA collection and analysis, it was clear that our original choice, Whatman FTA, is still the most reliable product available."
AI and GenAI Applications to Help Optimize Purification and Yield of Antibodies From Plasma
October 31st 2024Deriving antibodies from plasma products involves several steps, typically starting from the collection of plasma and ending with the purification of the desired antibodies. These are: plasma collection; plasma pooling; fractionation; antibody purification; concentration and formulation; quality control; and packaging and storage. This process results in a purified antibody product that can be used for therapeutic purposes, diagnostic tests, or research. Each step is critical to ensure the safety, efficacy, and quality of the final product. Applications of AI/GenAI in many of these steps can significantly help in the optimization of purification and yield of the desired antibodies. Some specific use-cases are: selecting and optimizing plasma units for optimized plasma pooling; GenAI solution for enterprise search on internal knowledge portal; analysing and optimizing production batch profitability, inventory, yields; monitoring production batch key performance indicators for outlier identification; monitoring production equipment to predict maintenance events; and reducing quality control laboratory testing turnaround time.
2024 EAS Awardees Showcase Innovative Research in Analytical Science
November 20th 2024Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Washington, and other leading institutions took the stage at the Eastern Analytical Symposium to accept awards and share insights into their research.
