Biotage to acquire extraction, evaporation product lines for Sample Preparation from Caliper Life Sciences

Biotage AB (STO:BIOT), a global leader in tools and technology for medicinal and analytical chemistry, and Caliper Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALP) today announces a transaction under which Biotage is acquiring extraction and evaporation product lines for Sample Preparation from Caliper.

Biotage is acquiring the RapidTrace® and TurboVap® product lines and all associated assets for a sum of USD 16,5m. These products had a turnover of USD 9,5m in 2009. Approximately eight employees of Caliper will be offered employment in Biotage. The business will be consolidated in the Biotage group as of May 25, 2010. The two product lines in summary:

RapidTrace SPE Workstation is a modular, highly scalable, automated Sample Prep high throughput Solid Phase Extraction (SPE) platform. A recent collaboration with Caliper resulted in the RapidTrace being fully compatible with all Biotage Isolute® SPE cartridges.

TurboVap Concentration Evaporator Workstations are microprocessor-controlled concentrators used for sample preparation that provide unattended, automated sample evaporation. The TurboVap product line is a logical add-on to the current Biotage evaporation products as a complement to the Biotage V-10TM solvent evaporation system.

"We are very pleased to see this transaction come through and we expect a significant improvement of our bottom line as this acquisition has a limited need for an extension of our present cost base. It is another important step in Biotage's strategic focus to expand further and deeper into the Sample Prep market where these products are an excellent complement to our existing product line. The extensive installed base of these products outside the pharma segment delivers new customer relationships into our new target markets of Food, Agricultural, Clinical, Forensics and Environmental. Our global sales outlet will take full advantage of these additions to our current portfolio. Caliper will continue to manufacture the products and we are in early stages of exploring further strategic collaboration opportunities." says Torben Jörgensen, Biotage AB President and CEO.

"RapidTrace and TurboVap are excellent products and have been very successful for Caliper. This divestiture will help us to focus on our new strategic direction of developing technologies enabling researchers in the life sciences to create life-saving and enhancing medicines and diagnostic tests. I believe that Biotage with its consumables offering will be able to further leverage this product portfolio and I also believe that Caliper and Biotage have great opportunities to take advantage of each other's core strengths in close collaboration." says Kevin Hrusovsky, Caliper Life Sciences President & CEO.