Sony Acquires iCyt And Officially Enters Flow Cytometry Business

Sony has acquired iCyt Mission Technology, Inc. (iCyt), a leading producer of high-performance cell sorters used for stem cell and disease research, through its U.S. subsidiary, Sony Corporation of America (SCA). With this acquisition, Sony is using its expertise and technologies to enter the flow cytometry business in life science field. iCyt, founded in 1995 and headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, designs, manufactures and sells flow cytometers, associated reagents and services.

Flow cytometry is a technique for counting and examining microscopic particles, such as cells and chromosomes, by suspending them in a stream of fluid and passing them by an electronic detection apparatus. It allows simultaneous multiparametric analysis of the physical and/or chemical characteristics of up to thousands of particles per second. Flow cytometry is routinely used in the diagnosis of health disorders, especially blood cancers, but has many other applications in both research and clinical practice.

“Sony brings an amazing level of technology and engineering capability to the field of cytometry,” said Gary Durack, founder, President and CEO of iCyt. “As a Sony company, iCyt will be able to leverage Sony’s global resources to deliver a variety of innovative solutions to the cell analysis market. This is truly a win for iCyt, its customers, and all who will benefit from these advances.”

“We are very pleased to welcome Gary Durack, who has extensive experience in the flow cytometry industry, and iCyt to the Sony family,” said Keiji Kimura, EVP of Sony. “iCyt’s experience and technologies will be valuable assets for Sony as it expands into this new business domain. We are confident that this acquisition will accelerate the development of Sony’s flow cytometry business by combining Sony’s expertise in the manufacturing of consumer products with the technological assets of iCyt.”

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of SCA, iCyt plans to develop advanced technologies and deliver new products in collaboration with Sony. Gary Durack will continue to lead the company through this period of growth and expansion.
New products and advancements will be announced at CYTO 2010, the upcoming Congress of the International Society for Advancement of Cytometry (ISAC), in Seattle in May 2010.

Sony has been exploring healthcare applications for its consumer-based optic technologies, such as those used for Blu-ray discs and its advanced data transmission technologies. Recent progress in regenerative medicine has highlighted the importance of cell analysis and, specifically, flow cytometry, an indispensable tool for research. Sony plans to realize unique technological advances in flow cytometry through the application of its core technologies. As part of this effort, Sony and iCyt have been jointly developing new flow cytometry devices since April 2009. Through this acquisition, Sony expects to accelerate its development of next-generation cell analysis systems and deliver innovative products to research and clinical laboratories around the world.