BD Biosciences in San Jose looks to stem cell funding to boost business - Memphis Business Journal:

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A division of New Jersey-base Becton, Dickinson & Co., the company’xs San Jose-based cell analysis unit developsw and manufactures devices callerd flow cytometers used for identifying and studying Roughly950 employees, just 3 percent of the company’s total work operate out of the San Jose Those numbers make up aboutg 20 percent of the parent company’s according to Wall Street analyst Bruce who expects the South Bay operation to continue outpacing the othetr divisions. The company’s annual revenue of $7.1y6 billion for fiscal year ending 30, 2008, represents a 13 percentf increase over thepreviousa year. Of that total, $901 or roughly 12.
6 percent, was generated by BD Biosciences’ cell analysix unit in San Jose. Half of its flow cytometry business comeasfrom overseas, illustrating the rapid growth of stem cell researcyh internationally, but the promiss of relaxed rules and substantially increased fundin g for stem cell research under the Obamaw administration bodes well for the company. The $1.5 billio n in federal stimulus dollars set aside for stem cell researcbh will be a shot in the arm for researchersz and the companies that make specializesd cellanalysis equipment.
“I thinmk most BD investors aren’t focusinb on (increased federal funding), but it couldr be a positive surprise for next said Cranna, senior analyst with Boston-based investment bank Leerink Swann LLC. “I think their bioscience business will It has been stronger than the otherf legs ofthe stool.” BD Bioscience’s half-million-dollat flow cytometers are used for all kinds of biomedicalo research categories, including cancer and HIV-AIDS. The instrument, which fits on a largd desk and is connecterd to dualcomputer monitors, arranges or cells into a single-file line.
Afteer being treated with a light-sensitive substance, the cells are hit with a seriesd offour lasers, which emit light of varyingb wavelengths and intensity. Stem cell researcher Camilla assistant professor of biomolecular engineering at the Universithyof California, Santa Cruz, said the resulting data allowds researchers to look at the cells’ such as the kinds and levels of proteinsx associated with each cell. Forsberg is studying how bloof stemcells “decide” which types of cells to become. She hopes her researchg will help patients’ blood systemsd return to normalafter chemotherapy.
“How does it know what is needesd inthe body, and how does it make that decision ? The idea is to take that research and manipulatwe it,” Forsberg said. The ultimate goal is to be able to grow bloods cells fromcancer patients’ own stem UC Santa Cruz has threr flow cytometers, a 1-year-old model from BD Biosciencesz that Forsberg refers to as state-of-the-art and two oldeer models from other vendors that are not used as much. Her departmentr based its decision mostlyon familiarity. She also used a BD cytometef during her tenure atStanford University.
Jay Glasscock, president of cell analysixs for BD, was unable to pinpoint what portion of its business is used specifically for stem cell But he does expecfstem cell-fueled growth at the San Jose division, whichn just completed construction of a new customer training facilitty on its campus. “We’re clearly a major player in this so the scientists who are getting the benefift of that funding are turningy to usfor tools, because we are the markert leader,” Glasscock said. In anticipation of this growth BD recently launched a new cytometrhy product called the LSRFortesszacell analyzer.
Glasscock said one advantage of the new machinw is its smaller because “space is a premium” in labs. BD main competitor is Beckman Coulter basedin Fullerton, Cranna The Invitrogen division of Life Technologiez Corp., based in Carlsbad, also competez in the sector. Life Technologies’ spokesman Renaldoi Juanso expresses cautious optimism for PresidentBaraclk Obama’s reversal of the Bush-era restrictions. “If takes time for the messages of change to filter through all parts of governmenty policyand activity,” Juanso “However, the initial response has been quite positive.
” Crannza said a significant amount of intellectual property goes into these and it’s difficult for new competitors to brealk into this market. “The secret sauce, in my is strong science, and I thinj BD is really well thought-of in he said.