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A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR US medical-technology firm has bought out Irish genetic-processing company GenCell for a secret sum only three years after the Limerick outfit set up shop.
Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD), which is worth about $24 billion (€18.9 billion) on its current share price, has announced it was buying the privately-held Irish company and its “next-generation sequencing” technology.
The catch-all term describes the latest genetic-processing techniques which allow labs to work with and analyse DNA much quicker and more cheaply than was previously possible.
GenCell, which was founded in 2011, developed its own robotic system for processing DNA using “liquid-cell technology”, which involved synthetic cells mimicking nature while the operation was being carried out.
CEO and founder Kieran Curran said the company had been able to develop the technology from concept to product over a short time and the buyout meant it would be able to look at further innovation.
GenCell raised €2.7 million in seed funding two years ago to help it get off the ground through a combination of private investors and the state-backed Enterprise Ireland.
All quiet on the price
In a statement today, BD said it would not release financial details of the buyout until its next earnings update.
But the company’s president, Linda Tharby, said GenCell’s technology gave it access to “a fast-growing segment with the potential to have a significant impact on healthcare” as well as the scope to grow its genetics business.
The announcement comes just over a week after BD signed a $12.2 billion (€9.6 billion) deal to buy rival medical-technology firm CareFusion.
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Christ, whatever you do, don’t ever predict anything good for the country. Journal commenters hate good news. SF keyboard warriors out in force this morning, hating that unemployment will fall. What patriots.
Good news. Strong economic growth continues for another year. Huge momentum in the construction and investment sectors. Look at the cranes on the Dublin skyline.
You do realise that Ireland extends beyond the Dublin city skyline?
Yep, in fact unemployment has fallen fastest in the south-west of the country.
The same ESRI that predicted economic growth in 2008.
They also said 3.5% growth back in 2008 and for 2010 to be a good year for growth. https://www.esri.ie/ /medium-term-review-2008-11/
Same that predicted a “soft-landing” in 2007/8 lol
They also predicted 4.2% growth for 2016 this time last year and were bang on the money.
@Fred Johnson: gdp figures are disappointing though only 3.5%, a big drop from 26% eh Fred.
@Derek Poutch: But the GNP figure of 8% for this year is remarkably strong.
I predict that the predictions will not be true. Seriously what’s the point in these. We make fun of psychics and fortune tellers but this is the exact same and for some reason we’re supposed to just accept it.
Totally agree.
@Simon Peters: They only predict what fg tell them to predict.
I reckon I can predict a few things. More people going homeless, more house repossessions, higher rents, more hospital waiting lists, politicians giving themselces a generous pay rise.
@Adrian: augh….tut tut tut Adrain..get that feel good factor, get into the Christmas spirit, we have turned the corner, in 2017 we are going to take the Celtic tiger out for a walk again..don’t be negative, don’t be pessimistic ..keep drinking Ltrs and Ltrs of that Christmas spirit and you to will turn into a pissed optimist with a lost sense of direction… as Mr Kenny follows Trumps lead to ‘MAKE IRELAND GREAT AGAIN’…ok fair enough, great for the select few, but great again never the less, because once them select few convince themselves the country has started making them money then thats the arument over, never mind what the rest of us think or what reality is.
Who is paying for these BS predictions FG/FF?
@Martin Ryan: Mystic Moggy and goat intrails?
The ersi is a self perpetuating bunch of bullshit artists, who frankly get paid for talking up the economy, with predictions based on their interpretation of flawed statistics, in the face of continuing downturn and financial hardship across the country. The only other group of people in the prediction business, who are held to account less, for their flawed predictions are newspaper astrologers!
Financial weather men for government didn’t hear much from these guys for eight long suffering years ,”come on let’s party like it’s 1999″
Keep the recovery going lads.
@Alex Falcone: sounds like ER !..in fact it looks like it to haaaaa
@Alex Falcone: I bet someone said the same on the Titanic as well?
This time next year I’ll be tearing down the Lee with a brand new jetski under my hole and a gourmet fairtrade organic artisan breakfast roll in my hand
@Quiet Goer: Health and Safety would stop you as your roll might get wet?
Well Hello everybody from Rural Ireland…..Could somebody open the door and let this continued economic growth out to rural Ireland…because one quick journey through it suggests the complete opposite.
@CJ Stewart: It is a tale of two economies. Dublin is growing very strongly and is in fact being hampered by lack of infrastructure. Rural Ireland is stagnant. It is hard to see a solution for this other than continued migration to the cities.
The days of getting a factory into Kanturk or wherever to make widgets and employ locals are long gone.
Ah yeah, the experts. Hopefully they changed staff since the ones in 2008 missed the biggest economic crash in history.
At the Old Moore’s Almanac again or is that Old Moore’s Armagnac ???
have your say