A Medical Device Daily

PerkinElmer (Boston) said it has completed two previously reported acquisitions that will extend its portfolio of advanced tools for cellular analysis, and strengthen its position in the area of High Content Screening (HCS).

In 4Q06, the company unveiled its plan to acquire Euroscreen Products (Gosselies, Belgium), a developer of the AequoScreen cellular assay platform, and Evotec Technologies (Hamburg, Germany), a provider of cellular screening systems. PerkinElmer did not disclose financial terms. But in December the company said it was buying various assets from Evotec for about $29.3 million (Medical Device Daily, Dec. 7/Dec. 11, 2006).

Earlier in the year Evotec sold off a single-molecule detection business and associated intellectual property — to Olympus (Tokyo) for around EUR7.5 million.

The AequoScreen platform from Euroscreen Products is based on a luminescence technology that generates “higher quality data,” PerkinElmer said, while reducing the false positives in G protein-coupled receptor screening applications.

The AequoScreen platform is suited for use with PerkinElmer’s LumiLux cellular screening system to identify and classify cellular receptors in the discovery of new therapeutic compounds. In addition, it said Euroscreen Products adds a library of GPCR membranes and cell lines, complementing the company’s existing assay platforms.

Evotec Technologies’ product portfolio includes the Opera HCS platform, a tool for high-content analysis that combines confocal microscopy with primary and secondary screening. Evotec Technologies’ offerings include cellular analysis and screening systems, cell manipulation and sorting systems, image capture and cellular analysis software, and integrated ultra-high throughput screening platforms.

“The addition of Euroscreen Products’ advanced GPCR technology and Evotec Technologies’ highly regarded HCS systems to PerkinElmer’s current portfolio enables us to offer our biopharma customers a comprehensive solution in advanced cellular imaging, screening and analysis,” said Robert Friel, president of PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences.

Revenue of the combined entities was roughly $25 million in 2006, and the company said that the acquisitions are expected to be neutral to slightly accretive to ‘07 EPS.

Health Sciences end markets include genetic screening, environmental, service, biopharma, and medical imaging. Photonics markets include sensors and specialty lighting.

In other dealmaking activity:

• Nationwide Health Properties (NHP; Newport Beach, California), a healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT), reported entering into a joint venture agreement with a state pension fund investor advised by Morgan Stanley Real Estate.

The purpose of the J-V is to acquire assisted living, independent living and skilled nursing facilities. The J-V, to be managed by NHP, will fund its investments with about 40% equity contributions and 60% debt and will be owned 75% by the institutional capital partner, the rest by NHP.

NHP reports having investments in 484 facilities in 42 states.