HandyLab |
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| Founded: |
2000 |
| Founders: |
Kalyan Handique, Sundaresh Brahmasandra |
| Product/Service: |
Novel clinical diagnostic testing products to improve infectious disease testing |
| Acquired By: |
Acquired by BD Nov 20, 2009 |
| Website: |
handylab.com |
HandyLab is dedicated to the development, manufacture and sale of novel molecular diagnostic products. HandyLab's proprietary platform reduces the time, cost and complexity of testing while improving the quality of results. Using patented real time microfluidic PCR technology, HandyLab's products are positioned to decentralize nucleic acid testing. .[BD Website, News and Events] |
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| In the News |
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 Nov 20, 2009
BD Completes Acquisition of HandyLab, Inc.
Franklin Lakes, NJ — BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE:BDX) today announced the completion of its acquisition of HandyLab, Inc., an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based company that develops and manufactures molecular diagnostic assays and automation platforms.
In May 2009, BD and HandyLab announced an exclusive agreement for BD to develop and commercialize molecular assays on the HandyLab Jaguar™ platform, the first fully integrated molecular diagnostic system to provide hands-off operation, incorporating clinical sample preparation, nucleic acid extraction, and microfluidic real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and detection in a simple bench-top system. The self-contained workstation is designed to accommodate both batch workflows and on-demand testing for maximum lab efficiency and flexibility.
| With this acquisition, BD will migrate its BD GeneOhm™ molecular assays for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Clostridium difficile and Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) onto the new platform and will market them as the new BD MAX™ system, an evolution of the current Jaguar™ system.
“HandyLab’s high-quality organization and industry-leading technology complement BD’s capabilities and healthcare-associated infections strategy, which requires the throughput, simplicity and flexibility that the HandyLab platform provides,” said Philippe Jacon, President, BD Diagnostics — Diagnostic Systems. “We plan to provide laboratories with a broad molecular test menu on a very advanced automation platform.”
The healthcare-associated infections (HAI) opportunity is emerging worldwide and is potentially very large, and BD has a leading position with its BD GeneOhm molecular testing product line. As hospital screening and testing programs expand, they will require flexible, state-of-the-art automation systems to support their evolving needs. The flexibility of this novel platform will allow further expansion of the BD molecular diagnostic menu.
BD paid $275 million for HandyLab. The financial impact of the acquisition on fiscal year 2010 earnings has been incorporated into the guidance BD provided during its earnings call on November 4, 2009. |
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© Becton, Dickinson and Company Press Release. Colleen T. White, Corporate Communications: (201) 847-5369, colleen_white@bd.com and Patricia A. Spinella, Investor Relations: (201) 847-5453, patricia_spinella@bd.com |
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 Tech Transfer Success Story
In a birthing suite, a woman goes into labor. The nurse on duty quickly takes a vaginal swab, places it in a syringe containing a small amount of buffer solution, and injects the liquid into a port on a small hand-held instrument. Then, by pressing a single button, she triggers a fully automated DNA analysis. In less than 30 minutes, she'll know whether or not the baby could be exposed to Grade B Streptococcus (GBS), a potentially fatal pathogen-treatable if detected early-that's carried by up to 20 percent of all new mothers.
| Thanks to a start-up company known as HandyLab-and the breakthrough research findings of two University of Michigan graduate students-this scenario is being repeated in pre-clinical trials at the UM Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Within the next three to five years, the same on-site technology may be widely used for diagnosing a whole range of infectious and genetically-based diseases, and for detecting airborne pathogens such as anthrax and smallpox.
The research that drives these remarkable nano-devices was developed over a period of seven years by chemical engineering Ph.D. students Kalyan Handique and Sundaresh Brahmasandra and their faculty advisors, Professors Dr. Mark Burns (Chemical Engineering) and Dr. David Burke (Human Genetics). In 1998, their portable acid- and protein-based analysis systems earned a place on Science Magazine's list of Top Inventions of the Year. And in June of 2000, the two former students launched HandyLab with $2.4 million in funding.
In 2001, the company began seeking $3.5 million in Series B funding, and came away with $5.5 million instead. "To be oversubscribed in this economy is quite an achievement," notes HandyLab President and CEO Michael Farmer. He points out that the company is now receiving significant additional funding in the form of Defense Department and NIH grants and R&D contracts. Among HandyLab investors is the Wolverine Venture Fund, administered by Michigan Business School students.
"We're very pleased with the business relationship we've had with the University of Michigan," Farmer says, adding that "Tech Transfer was absolutely crucial to the start of the company. Without their contributions, particularly in the areas of patent protection and business planning, there wouldn't be a HandyLab today." |
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© UM Tech Transfer |
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