Thermo Fisher Scientific Snags Finnzymes for High-Performance PCR Solutions

Thermo Fisher Scientific is acquiring Finnzymes, a provider of integrated tools for molecular biology analysis, including reagents, instruments, consumables, and kits. Headquartered in Espoo, Finland, Finnzymes has 90 employees and generated revenue of $20 million in 2009.

Finnzymes provides solutions for high-performance PCR, RT-PCR, and real-time qPCR. The company’s expertise in DNA polymerases has led to significant increases in the performance of these enzymes, making the PCR process faster and more accurate, according to Thermo Fisher Scientific.

The acquisition of Finnzymes expands Thermo Fisher’s portfolio of reagents and other consumables for the molecular biology research and diagnostics markets through the addition of its DNA polymerases Phire™ and Phusion™ as well as high-speed miniaturized thermal cyclers and plastic tubes and plates. These products complement the recently launched Thermo Scientific Solaris qPCR gene-expression assays.

Combining the gene-specific MGB®-based probes from Thermo Scientific with the advanced enzyme performance from Finnzymes will further enhance qPCR assay technology, Thermo Fisher believes. “The addition of Finnzymes’ innovative enzyme portfolio and unique PCR instrument platform strengthens our broad range of life science reagents and consumables as well as our specialty diagnostics product offering,” notes Marc N. Casper, president and CEO of Thermo Fisher Scientific. “This combination brings together key complementary technologies for molecular biology and diagnostics, allowing us to create significant value for our customers.”

Finnzymes will be integrated primarily into Thermo Fisher Scientific’s analytical technologies segment, with some equipment and consumable product lines being added to the laboratory products and services segment. The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of this year. The company does not expect this transaction to have a material impact on its 2010 financial results.