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Ion Torrent Systems Inc., a DNA sequencing system developer in Guilford, Conn., has been acquired today for $375 million in cash and stock by Life Technologies Corp., a California biotech tools company. The buyout could bring Ion Torrent another $350 million in cash and stock, based on milestone achievements.
The Connecticut company was founded by Jonathan Rothberg, a chemical and biomedical engineer responsible for the creation of well-known life sciences companies such as 454 Life Sciences Corp., CuraGen Corp. and Raindance Technologies. Ion Torrent leverages the company’s technology that uses semiconductors to conduct the DNA sequencing, rather than expensive and complex optical technology.
As part of the acquisition, Ion Torrent will continue to operate its R&D facilities in Connecticut and San Francisco, and Rothberg will continue at the helm of Ion Torrent.
Life Technologies (Nasdaq: LIFE) noted in a press release today that the buyout will combine its own informatics, sequencing automation and sample preparation with Ion Torrent’s technology and R&D capabilities.
Ion Torrent, founded in 2007, intends to use its chip-based sequencing technology in the Personal Genome Machine for microbial sequencing.
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