Life Technologies has had a storied history, with many players and acquisitions through the years.

It started over 50 years ago with the formation of GIBCO (Grand Island Biological Company) in New York. In 1983 the original Life Technologies was founded by the merger of Bethesda Research Laboratories and GIBCO. In 2000, Invitrogen bought out Life Technologies and the Life Tech name was discontinued.

The Life Technologies name made a comeback in November 2008 when Invitrogen merged with Applied Biosystems. At the time Greg Lucier, CEO, said, “As we moved through the integration process and gained greater clarity around the vision for our joint company, the new management team felt that the Life Technologies name best symbolizes the promise of what we can accomplish together.”

A lot of what they accomplished in the last five years was done through acquisitions. Below is a list of the most noteworthy.

One year after its formation, in November, 2009, Life Technologies acquired BioTrove, maker of the high-throughput gene-expression and genotyping-analysis system called OpenArray®.

On January 12, 2010, Life Technologies purchased AcroMetrix, a provider of molecular and serological diagnostic quality-control products to clinical laboratories, blood-screening centers, and in vitro diagnostic manufacturers.

On August 18, 2010, Life Technologies bought Ion Torrent for $375 million in cash and shares.

On July 17, 2012, in what was called a first step toward building out its molecular diagnostics, Life Technologies acquired genetics-based products and services provider Navigenics for an undisclosed price.

On July 25, 2012, Life Technologies acquired Pinpoint Genomics and its early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer test.

In October Life Technologies acquired Compendia Bioscience, a cancer bioinformatics company focused on identifying novel gene targets for drug discovery and development.

In November 5 Life Technologies purchased Advanced Microscopy Group (AMG) for its imaging systems for research microscopy.

In January 22 Life Technologies acquired Netherlands-based BAC, which was involved in the discovery, development, and manufacture of protein purification products.

On April 12, Life Technologies took over KDR Biotech, a South Korea-based reagents distributor that has served in that role for Life Technologies since 1982.

For more on Thermo Fisher Scientific’s acquisition of Life Technologies, click here.

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