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Applied Biosystems is one of the various brands under the Life Technologies brand of Thermo Fisher Scientific corporation. The brand is focused on integrated systems for genetic analysis, which include computerized machines and the consumables used within them (such as reagents). In 2008, a merger between Applied Biosystems and Invitrogen was finalized, creating Life Technologies. The latter was acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific in 2014. Prior to 2008, the Applied Biosystems brand was owned by various entities in a corporate group parented by PerkinElmer. The roots of Applied Biosystems trace back to GeneCo (Genetic Systems Company), a pioneer biotechnology company founded in 1981 in Foster City, California.〔(Applied Biosystems Timeline ), AppliedBiosystems.com〕 Through the 1980s and early 1990s, Applied Biosystems, Inc. operated independently and manufactured biochemicals and automated genetic engineering and diagnostic research instruments, including the principal brand of DNA sequencing machine used by the Human Genome Project consortium centers. Applied Biosystems' close ties to the consortium project led to the idea for the founding of Celera Genomics in 1998 as one of several independent competitors to the consortium.〔(READING THE BOOK OF LIFE, Double Landmarks for Watson: Helix and Genome ), The New York Times on the Web, By NICHOLAS WADE, June 27, 2000〕 In 1993 Applied Biosystems, Inc. was delisted from the NASDAQ when it was acquired by the old company known then as Perkin-Elmer (formerly ). As the PE Applied Biosystems Division under that parent in 1998, it became consolidated with other acquisitions as the primary PE Biosystems Division.〔 In 1999 its parent company reorganized and changed its name to PE Corporation,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=PE Corp, Form 8-K, Current Report, Filing Date Mar 16, 1999 )〕 and the PE Biosystems Group (formerly ) again became publicly traded, as a tracking stock of its parent, along with its sister tracking stock company, Celera Genomics. In 2000 the parent became Applera Corporation. The Applied Biosystems name also returned that year, in the name change of the tracking stock from PE Biosystems Group to Applera Corporation-Applied Biosystems Group (), an S&P 500 company, which remains as a publicly traded operating group within Applera Corp., along with its sibling operating group, Applera Corporation-Celera Group. Applera derives its name from the combination of its two component groups' names, Appl(iedCel)era〔 In November 2008, a merger between Applied Biosystems and Invitrogen 〔 was finalized "creating a global leader in biotechnology reagents and systems". The new company was called Life Technologies. ==History== In May 1981, the company was founded by two scientist/engineer from Hewlett Packard, Sam Eletr and Andre Marion〔 In August 1982, Applied Biosystems released its first commercial instrument, the Model 470A Protein Sequencer. The machine enabled scientists to determine the order of amino acids within a purified protein, which in turn correlated with the protein's function. With 40 employees, the company, reported first-time revenue of US$402,000.〔 In 1983 the company was led by its president and Chairman of the Board, Sam Eletr and Chief Operating Officer Andre Marion, the company doubled its number of employees to 80, and its stock went public on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol ABIO, with revenues of US$5.9 million. A new product was a fluorescent molecular tag for immunodiagnostic assays.〔 The company released its second commercial instrument, the Model 380A DNA Synthesizer, which made oligonucleotides, short DNA strands, for polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA sequencing, and gene identification. The two sequencer and synthesizer products allowed molecular biologists to clone genes by building oligonucleotides with the desired protein's DNA sequence.〔 Automated DNA sequencing began at the California Institute of Technology, using fluorescent dyes, with Rights to the technology granted to Applied Biosystems.〔 At CIT, Dr. Leroy Hood and Dr. Lloyd Smith, together pioneered those first DNA sequencing machines.〔 In 1984, Applied Biosystems sales revenue tripled to over US$18 million, with a second yearly profit, and with over 200 employees. Services included synthesizing custom DNA and protein fragments, and the sequencing of protein samples submitted from customers. The third major instrument made by Applied, the Model 430A Peptide Synthesizer, was introduced.〔 In 1985, Applied Biosystems sales revenue grew nearly 70% to over US$35 million, with a third yearly profit. Two new products included the Model 380B DNA Synthesizer and the 381A DNA Synthesizer. That year the company went international for the first time, when it established a wholly owned subsidiary in Great Britain to save shipping costs on chemical sales, which overall by then accounted for 17% of sales.〔 Also in 1985, Applied Biosystems acquired Brownlee Labs, a manufacturer of columns and pumps for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems, after its founder, Robert Brownlee was diagnosed with AIDS-related complex in 1984.〔''New York Times'', Dec. 12, 1984 "for 130,000 shares"〕 Brownlee's technology brought the new on-line 120A PTH Amino Acid Analyzer.〔 However, Brownlee then began a new company, which was viewed by Applied as a competitor. In 1989 Applied and Brownlee settled in a lawsuit over the conflict.〔Brownlee v. Applied Biosystems, Inc., 1989-1 Trade Cas. (CCH) 68, (N.D. Cal. 1989) 8,14〕 As late as 1990, Brownlee publicly discussed what had been his contributions in the rocky relationship with Applied, before he died early the next year.〔(''The Scientist'', 25 June, 1990 )〕 In 1986, Andre Marion became President and Chief Executive Officer. Sales revenue increased by 45% to nearly US$52 million. The company introduced six new products, totalling eleven automated instruments. The release of the Model 370A DNA Sequencing System, using fluorescent tags, revolutionized gene discovery. The Model 340A Nucleic Acid Extractor became used in medical labs to isolate DNA from bacteria, blood, and tissue.〔 In 1987, Sam Eletr resigned for health reasons. Revenues increase by 63% to nearly US$85 million, with 788 employees, and another six new instruments. Applied Biosystems acquired the Kratos Division of Spectros International PLC.〔 By 1988, the product line had increased to over 25 different automated instruments, over 400 liquid chromatography columns and components, and about 320 chemicals, biochemicals, and consumables. Sales revenue grew to over US$132 million, with almost 1000 employees in eight countries. In that year for the first time, genetic science reached the milestone of being able to identify individuals by their DNA.〔 In 1989, sales revenue reached nearly $160 million. Applied Biosystems maintained 15 offices in 9 different countries, and introduced four new products. The company developed enzyme-based reagent kits made by Promega Corporation, and in the new field of bioinformatics, licensed with TRW Inc. () Also, joint marketing began with Perkin-Elmer Corporation and Cetus Corporation (formerly ) of instruments and reagents for DNA replication, the fastest growing segment in biotechnology.〔 In 1990, instrument sales underwent a cyclical slowdown, as the economy entered the 1990-1991 recession. For the first year, Applied revenues did not grow, and came in at less than $159 million, with 1,334 employees. New company developments included new instrumentation for robotics and detection of DNA fragments using the company's fluorescent labelling.〔 Also in 1990, the U.S. government approved financing to support the Human Genome Project. Dr. James D. Watson, who founded the consortium, forecast that the project could be completed in 15 years from its 1990 starting date, at a cost of cost US$3 billion.〔 Over the next couple years, Japan began a project to sequence the rice genome, and other laboratories initiated programs to sequence the mouse, fruit fly, and yeast genomes.〔 In 1991, Applied sales revenue grew slightly, to almost $164 million, with consumables and service contracts up by 24% to account for 47% of total sales, and DNA sequencer and DNA synthesis instruments having record sales. Forty-five new consumable products and six new instruments were introduced.〔 In 1992, sales revenue grew by more than 11% to over $182 million, with Europe representing 25% of revenue, and Asia and the Pacific Rim accounting for 26%. The company formed a new subsidiary, Lynx Therapeutics, Inc., to focus on antisense DNA research in the area of therapeutics for chronic myelogenous leukemia, melanoma, colorectal cancer, and AIDS.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Applied Biosystems」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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