News & Events
BD Announces Acquisition of Atto Bioscience, Inc.
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Contact: Lisa English, PhD BD Biosciences, Strategic Communications (408) 954-2339 Patricia A. Spinella Investor Relations (201) 847-5453 Email: patricia_spinella@bd.com San Jose, CA (July 01, 2004) -- BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), through its BD Biosciences segment, today announced that it has acquired Atto Bioscience, Inc. in a cash transaction valued at approximately $25 million. Atto Bioscience, a privately held Maryland-based company, specializes in optical instrumentation, software, and reagents for real-time analysis of interactions taking place in living cells. These products and technologies are targeted at the emerging field of high content cell analysis that is rapidly taking hold in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, academic, and government research markets. Atto Bioscience, Inc. reported sales of $3 million for calendar year 2003 and is expected to double its sales for calendar year 2004.
"The acquisition of Atto Bioscience is part of our strategy to expand our presence in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology market, as well as to enhance our presence in the life sciences academic and government research markets," said Vincent A. Forlenza, President, BD Biosciences. "This transaction will unite Atto Bioscience's high content imaging platforms with BD Biosciences' leading flow cytometry platforms and wide range of cell-based assay tools, positioning BD to play a leading role in the emerging high content cell analysis market."
Since its inception, Atto Bioscience has developed novel technologies for investigating biochemical and physiological changes in living cells in real time, which have important implications for the future of drug discovery. BD Biosciences will work to leverage these technologies to help researchers identify drug-related effects on a sub-population of cells and to optimize high efficacy drug candidates at earlier stages of the drug discovery process.
"BD Biosciences' proven expertise in commercializing cell analysis instrumentation and innovative reagents fit perfectly with our core expertise of providing live-cell analysis technologies to the life sciences market," said Atto Bioscience President and CEO Derek Woods. "Joining the BD family will allow us to better deliver and support our already well accepted technologies globally."
Throughout the world, clinicians and researchers use BD Biosciences products and services to better understand disease, improve diagnosis and disease management, and facilitate the discovery and development of novel drugs and vaccines. Atto Bioscience's strengths in biosensor development, cell biology, and imaging complement BD Biosciences' strengths in instrumentation, reagents, and tools for cell analysis. By combining these technological strengths with BD Biosciences' worldwide sales and technical reach, BD can begin to offer a broader range of products, contract services, and technical support to address the needs of the global drug discovery and life sciences research communities.
BD is a medical technology company that serves healthcare institutions, life science researchers, clinical laboratories, industry, and the general public. BD manufactures and sells a broad range of medical supplies, devices, laboratory equipment, and diagnostic products. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2003, BD reported total revenues of $4.528 billion.
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