Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Mass. Biotech Council, Thermo Fisher form supply deal

By Marc Songini

The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council in Cambridge is linking up with a unit of Waltham-based instrumentation and research products giant Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. to create a strategic supply alliance.

The MBC, an industry advocacy organization, announced this week that Fisher Scientific would be a primary supplier in the organization’s “purchasing consortium.” In that role, Fisher Scientific will support the product and supply chain needs of the state’s biotechnology companies and speed up the industry’s overall growth.

This alliance will give MBC member companies access to the technologies Fisher Scientific offers — including scientific, safety and laboratory products. The organization’s members need the “most comprehensive and cost effective solutions” available, particularly in these difficult economic times, stated MBC president and CEO Robert Coughlin. This partnership with the MBC will create an environment that enables every biotechnology company to reach its full potential, he claimed.

Fisher Scientific representatives plan to be in contact with each MBC member company in the next several days to explain the opportunities and how to sign up for the program.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has annual revenues of $10.5 billion. It also has about 34,000 employees supporting 350,000 customers worldwide within pharmaceutical and biotech companies, hospitals and clinical diagnostic labs, universities, research institutions and government agencies.

Last month, microarray-based tool developer Aushon Biosystems Inc. bought Thermo Fisher Scientific’s SearchLight Protein Array business. No financial terms of the acquisition were disclosed.