Bio-Techne Corporation Agrees to Acquire Zephyrus Biosciences, Inc.

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Mar 21, 2016, 10:34 ET

MINNEAPOLIS, March 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Zephyrus Biosciences. Zephyrus Biosciences will be integrated into the Protein Platforms Division of Bio-Techne.

Zephyrus Biosciences provides research tools to enable protein analysis at the single cell level. Addressing the burgeoning single cell analysis market, Zephyrus's first product, the Z1™ System, enables western blotting on individual cells for the first time. Researchers will utilize Zephyrus's products to gain new insights into the biology of cancer, stem cells, neurology, and human disease and development. Zephyrus spun out from Dr. Amy Herr's laboratory at U.C. Berkeley in 2013 and has affiliations with QB3, StartX, CLSI/BayBio, and Berkeley SkyDeck.

Charles R. Kummeth, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bio-Techne, said, "The acquisition of Zephyrus demonstrates our continued interest in western blotting, a vital technique in protein identification and characterization. This new technology brings this technique to the single cell level, allowing us to address both homogenous sample populations with our Simple Western™ platforms and now heterogeneous populations at the single cell level with Zephyrus and the Z1 System. We are very excited to bring the Zephyrus products and team onboard."

Zephyrus co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Kelly Gardner, Ph.D. added, "We are excited to join Bio-Techne and bring our system into the ProteinSimple family of products. This deal provides an excellent path forward for commercialization of the single cell Western Blot (scWestern Blot) technology. The market reach of Bio-Techne will enable Zephyrus to rapidly reach the broad market of researchers who need to study proteins at the single cell level."

Dr. Gardner and other members of the Zephyrus team will remain in place following the closing.

Forward-Looking Statements

Our press releases may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the actual results of operations. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements regarding our belief about the market applications and impact of our potential acquisition of Zephyrus Biosciences, Inc. and our ability to derive advantages from this acquisition as we integrate it into our business. The following important factors, among others, have affected and, in the future could affect, the our actual results: the effect of new branding and marketing initiatives, the integration of new leadership, the introduction and acceptance of new products, the levels and particular directions of research and product development by our customers, the impact of the growing number of producers of biotechnology research and diagnostics products and related price competition, general economic conditions, the impact of currency exchange rate fluctuations, and the costs and results of our research and product development efforts and those of companies in which we have invested or with which we have formed strategic relationships.

For additional information concerning such factors, see the section titled "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements we make in our press releases due to new information or future events. Investors are cautioned not to place undue emphasis on these statements.

Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH) is a global life sciences company providing innovative tools and bioactive reagents for the research and clinical diagnostic communities. Bio-Techne products assist scientific investigations into biological processes and the nature and progress of specific diseases. They aid in drug discovery efforts and provide the means for accurate clinical tests and diagnoses. With thousands of products in its portfolio, Bio-Techne generated approximately $452 million in net sales in fiscal 2015 and has approximately 1,500 employees worldwide. For more information on Bio-Techne and its brands, please visit www.bio-techne.com.

SOURCE Bio-Techne Corporation