Mediatech develops, manufactures and sells a broad range ofcell culture media and molecular biology reagents related to tissue and cell cultureapplications. Its products under the cellgro brand include culture media, basalsalt solutions, antibiotics, sera, specialty media and flexible packagingsystems. The company's products are manufactured in a cGMP facility, certifiedto U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Regulations 21 CFR Part 820, as wellas ISO 13485:2003. The newly acquired company will operate as a wholly ownedsubsidiary of Corning and will be integrated into Corning's Life Sciencessegment.
Jason Walsh, director of New Platforms at Corning LifeSciences, will become general manager of Mediatech. James DeOlden, co-founderof Mediatech, will serve in an advisory capacity during the leadershiptransition. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Mediatechwas the third Corning Life Sciences acquisition over the past three years. In2009, the company acquired Axygen BioScience Inc. and its subsidiaries fromAmerican Capital Ltd. for approximately $400 million in cash. Headquartered inUnion City, Calif., Axygen manufactures and distributes life sciences plasticconsumable labware, liquid-handling products and benchtop laboratory equipmentand has operations in the United States, France, Poland and China. At the time,Corning noted the acquisition enhanced the company's presence in Asia throughAxygen's two manufacturing locations there and increased access to customers inthe Asia region.
In 2010, Corning acquired France-based Plaslab, the holdingcompany of Plastiques Gosselin. Headquartered in Borre, France, PlastiquesGosselin manufactures and distributes plastic consumable labware in Europe. Atthat time, Corning stated the acquisition "furthers Corning's strategy tocontinue to improve its strategic balance by strengthening its Life Sciencessegment. All three acquired businesses have been integrated into Corning's LifeSciences segment."
"By providing customers worldwide with greater access toMediatech's cellgro product portfolio, this acquisition supports Corning'songoing commitment to supply its customers with a comprehensive line oflaboratory research tools," added Richard Eglen, who was named vice presidentand general manager of Corning Life Sciences in June 2011.
Mediatech's wide array of culture media and molecularbiology reagents is complementary to the general labware, cell culture, labequipment and high-throughput screening/assay products offered today byCorning, Eglen notes. In addition, the acquisition enables Corning to continueto improve its strategic balance by strengthening its Life Sciences segment.Eglen stresses that Life Sciences will also continue to grow via internallydeveloped products and cites its recent introduction of 384-well clear bottommicroplates. The new products are dimensionally identical to the recentlyupgraded, solid-colored microplates, allowing for easy transition into existingautomation and readers. Key features of the new microplate include: reductionin autofluorescence (background); reduction in well-to-well signal variation;higher signal-to-background ratio; larger surface area for improved viewing;improved robotic handling and bar coding; and seamless transition between clearand solid-colored 384-well plates.
