Life Technologies inks $725M deal for Ion Torrent

Arming itself for a looming showdown with Illumina over the booming market for second-generation gene sequencing technologies, Life Technologies struck a deal to buy Ion Torrent for $375 million in cash and stock with $350 million more on the line based on a series of milestones. The deal gives Life Technologies a shot at introducing a gene sequencing device later this year that will be sold for less than $100,000, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. A variety of companies have been...

Life Technologies budgets $100M for synthetic biology deals

Lured into the promising field of synthetic biology, Life Technologies is striking a string of new deals intended to position the company as one of the primary providers of the research tools which will be needed by scientists laboring on new projects. According to a report from Forbes' Matthew Herper, Life Technologies has reserved $100 million to invest in the field this year. Yesterday the company announced its investment in J. Craig Venter's Synthetic Genomics,...