The combined organization extends HORIBA’s global leadership position in the fluorescence spectroscopy market.
HORIBA announces the acquisition of the global assets of Photon Technology International, Inc. and its affiliate companies (Photon Technology International or PTI). HORIBA Instruments Inc. (based in the U.S.) and other HORIBA Scientific group companies have acquired PTI’s worldwide business assets with the aim of increasing market share in fluorescence spectroscopy by taking advantage of PTI's well established network in the biomedical field and their leadership position in such techniques as intracellular ion imaging(*1). These techniques are crucial in areas such as understanding cellular processes for regenerative medical therapies and developing next generation food and agricultural products, all applications with expectations for rapid growth.
About Photon Technology International, Inc.
PTI is a leading supplier of fluorescence spectroscopy research instrumentation, serving the university and research labs, industrial and biomedical markets. PTI is the world leader in microscopy based fluorometers, especially for ion imaging, in part due to a long-standing research and development collaboration with a prestigious laboratory in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry of the University of Western Ontario in Ontario, Canada.
Background of HORIBA’s fluorescence business
In 1997 HORIBA acquired Jobin Yvon, in France and the US, a world leader in spectroscopic analysis, expanding HORIBA’s technology to include visible light range. HORIBA’s Fluorescence Spectroscopy Division based in the US provides solutions for national institutions and universities for analyzing everything from proteins to cutting-edge materials such as carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide(*2). Proven quality and trusted performance have established widespread confidence in the HORIBA Brand. HORIBA is the world leader in fluorescence spectroscopy with 15% global market share. (Source: SDI report, October 2012)
Considerable potential for growth in new application
Recent economic developments resulting in the reduction of global government research spending have levelled off new product demand at universities and national research institutions. However, demand for fluorescence-based spectral analysis in the life sciences is growing, driven by biomedical applications such as next generation regenerative medical therapies (using Pluripotent Stem (PS) cells(*3), for example) and developing next generation food and agricultural products. Thus the market for equipment (including software) for product development and productizing at biomedical and life science companies is increasing.
We aim to take advantage of this trend to increase our market share in fluorescence spectroscopy by using PTI's network in these rapidly growing areas. We also aim to expand PTI’s Canadian production and engineering to take advantage of their lower cost production capability and engineering efficiency to further expand our fluorescence products into the material analysis market.
With this acquisition, five years from now in 2018 we target 4.5 billion yen total sales in HORIBA’s fluorescence spectroscopy business.
Overveiw of Photon Technology International, Inc.,
| Representative | Charles Marianik |
| Incorporated | 1983 |
| Address | 300 Birmingham Rd, Birmingham, NJ, USA |
| Employees | 40 (Consolidated, end of 2013) |
| Business | R&D, production, services and sales of fluorescence analyzers and fluorescence microscopy analyzers |
| Acquired sites | 4 sites in 4 countries. USA(New Jersey), UK(West Sussex), Canada(Ontario), Germany(Seefeld) |
Terminology
(*1) Intracellular ion imaging
Monitoring ion changes in the body on a cellular level (intracellular) yields an understanding of signaling and chemical pathways central to many fundamental processes such as muscle contraction or nerve signal transmission.
(*2) Carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide
Carbon nanotubes and graphene are novel materials based on folded and unfolded monolayer sheets of carbon. Graphene oxide is the most commercially viable starting material for making graphene. Potential applications include lightweight, thin, flexible display screens, electric circuits, and solar cells, as well as uses in medical, chemical and industrial processes.
(*3) Pluripotent Stem (PS) cells
Pluripotent Stem cells are cells that can become any other type of cell, and are a major field of research in medicine for their potential to regenerate diseased or injured parts of the body.