PerkinElmer has bought genetic analysis software firm Geospiza to get its hands on the latter’s flagship web-based GeneSifter® software for next-generation sequence analysis and LIMS. Back in January PerkinElmer inked a multiyear license agreement for Geospiza's GeneSifter Lab Edition and GeneSifter Analysis Edition software products but has now decided it is better off acquiring the firm outright.
PerkinElmer says taking over the company will allow it to deliver an end-to-end solution comprising access to sequencing services as well as analysis and visualization software through cloud computing.
“The acquisition of Geospiza along with existing software in our various diagnostic businesses gives PerkinElmer a strong platform for offerings in nucleic acid testing,” comments Richard Begley, Ph.D., president of emerging technologies at PerkinElmer. “Geospiza is a leader in its industry and a strong addition to PerkinElmer’s bioinformatics capabilities.”
Geospiza’s flagship GeneSifter Lab Edition platform, formerly known as FinchLab, is an out-of-the-box lab management system for next-gen sequencing data management and analysis. The firm’s GeneSiftware Analysis Edition is a cloud-based data analysis product for microarray and next-gen sequencing data. The most recent release of GeneSifter Analysis Edition features splice index analysis and base variant calling for NGS as well as enhanced support for Affymetrix miRNA and Exon/Gene ST arrays.
In February NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute awarded Geospiza a $1.2 million Phase II SBIR grant to collaborate with researchers at Weil Cornell Medical College on development of a new GeneSifter application that will allow rapid identification and visualization of DNA sequence variations between normal and cancer tissues.
In March Geospiza inked a co-marketing deal with sample preparation specialist NuGEN through which the firms will develop and offer to clients an integrated workflow for next-generation sequencing sample preparation, data analysis, and sample information.