Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. a multinational manufacturer and distributor of life science research and clinical diagnostics products, has completed the purchase of Ciphergen Biosystems, Inc.'s ProteinChip Systems business and worldwide technology rights to its Surface Enhanced Laser Desorption/Ionization (SELDI) for approximately $20 million in cash. The acquisition includes certain product lines, manufacturing capability, and intellectual property as well as access to Ciphergen's life science customer base.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ciphergen will retain rights to the diagnostics market. Through a separate supply agreement, Bio-Rad will supply instruments and reagents to Ciphergen to support their diagnostics business. Bio-Rad also made a $3 million equity investment in Ciphergen as part of the transaction.

"With Ciphergen's ProteinChip Systems and SELDI technology, Bio-Rad is able to offer a more complete range of tools for proteomics workflows," said Norman Schwartz, Bio-Rad president and CEO. "Ciphergen products enable protein profiling and biomarker discovery and are a perfect complement to Bio-Rad's existing product line."

The ProteinChip SELDI System, which employs patented Surface Enhanced Laser Desorption/Ionization technology (SELDI), enables protein expression difference mapping, otherwise known as differential protein expression or expression proteomics. Proteomics research provides a direct approach to understanding the role of proteins in the biology of disease, monitoring disease progression and the therapeutic effects of drugs.