Beckman Coulter Life Sciences has entered into an agreement to acquire Xitogen Technologies Inc. together with Cytojene Corporation. Xitogen, a flow cytometer developer based in Suzhou and Dalian, China, will provide Beckman Coulter Life Sciences with both a strong operational base in the growing China market and a high quality research instrument to round out their world-class cytometry offering. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014. 

Xitogen has developed the XTG-1600, a small footprint cytometer that can detect objects in the 100 nanometer range – viruses, bacteria, microparticles and cell organelles - making it an excellent choice for basic research investigations.  The base single-laser/four-channel system can be incrementally expanded to a three-laser/16-channel configuration. The acquisition of the Xitogen business includes fully staffed facilities in Suzhou and Dalian, which will function as research and development and manufacturing centers for Beckman Coulter Life Sciences.  

“We see Xitogen’s technology as an accelerator that will rapidly grow our menu of products and services,” stated Jennifer Honeycutt, president of Beckman Coulter Life Sciences.  “We believe that Xitogen offers significant synergies within several of our strategic focus areas, which will help to advance our mission of delivering innovative and trusted scientific solutions across the globe.”

“Having an operational base in the growing Asian market will enable us to provide timely service to customers in that region,” said Mario Koksch, vice president and general manager of the Cytometry Business Unit for Beckman Coulter Life Sciences.  “Adding this technology and intellectual property to our existing portfolio means we can extend our reach from clinical diagnostics through clinical research and further into basic research.”

“We believe that flow cytometers should be easy to use, able to grow with the technical needs of the users, and provide the highest quality and performance,” said Dr. Yong Chen, founder of Xitogen.  “We’re proud our technology will be part of the Beckman Coulter portfolio, and excited about the prospects created by having access to their sales and distribution channels.”

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences offers a comprehensive line of cellular analysis products, including the industry-leading Navios and FC 500 clinical cytometers, the Gallios and CyAn research cytometers, and the MoFlo XDP and Astrios EQ cell sorters.  Other products include sample preparation systems, Kaluza software and a full line of fluorescently-labelled antibodies and associated support products.