Merck buys flow cytometry company

The life sciences arm of Merck KGaA, EMD Millipore, has bought US cell imaging manufacturer Amnis Corporation in an undisclosed deal.

Amnis’ products are used in flow cytometry applications in academic, biotech and pharma cell analysis, matching Millipore’s current Guava range of flow cytometry assays.

Jonathan DiVincenzo, Head of Millipore’s bioscience business unit, said that the acquisition will “create tremendous value for our customers’ research outcomes in the flow cytometry workflow”.

“Today there are no comparable alternatives that enable our customers to combine flow cytometry and image analysis in one integrated solution”.

David Basiji, Chief Executive of Amnis, said that the acquisition “will greatly accelerate development of novel applications in imaging flow cytometry, enhance our customer support, and accelerate product development”.

The deal is expected to close in the final quarter of 2011.