Malvern Instruments Ltd (Malvern, UK), a leading global provider of instrumentation and expertise for materials and biophysical characterization, has acquired nanoparticle characterization company NanoSight Ltd (Amesbury, UK). The acquisition was completed on Friday 27 September 2013.

NanoSight has developed and commercialized a unique and patented technology, Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA). The company’s instrumentation and software enable the rapid and simultaneous multi-parameter analysis and characterization of many different types of nanoscale particles. With their ability to analyze particle size, concentration, zeta potential and aggregation, NanoSight systems are closely aligned with Malvern’s market-leading Zetasizer range, extending Malvern’s solutions for those working at the nanoscale. 

Currently the largest applications area for NTA is in life sciences, for the measurement of biological nanoparticles, where one of the most exciting and rapidly expanding fields is exosomes. These are intercellular messengers whose quantity and biochemical composition reflect the disease status of an individual. NanoSight technology uniquely provides quantitative detection and characterization capabilities to make exosomes a viable proposition as biomarkers for drug discovery, disease prognosis, diagnosis and monitoring, as well as personalized medicine.

Paul Walker, Managing Director of Malvern Instruments, said: “NanoSight is a real entrepreneurial success story and I am delighted to be welcoming the NanoSight team to Malvern. NanoSight has grown every year since it was established in 2002 and has ambitious plans for the future. We will be providing the investment and support needed to continue this drive forward and are absolutely committed to developing the NanoSight brand within the Malvern portfolio.

“NanoSight’s unique technology has become accepted in laboratories around the world and is widely cited in research publications. With rapid advances in nanomaterials and the life sciences, in biopharmaceuticals especially, the demand for new technologies to answer continually evolving analytical challenges has never been greater. This is a very exciting time and by bringing together complementary, leading edge technologies, Malvern continues to focus on delivering the analytical tools which laboratories so urgently need.”

Jeremy Warren, CEO of NanoSight, said, “We have always seen Malvern as the clear leader in our sector, and the exemplar of what we wish to become. The plans we have are ambitious and exciting, and the support and reach of the Malvern organization will allow us to grow more rapidly than we could alone. I am sure that this change will bring opportunity to both our business and our colleagues. Malvern is our natural home.”

NanoSight employs around 50 people worldwide and will continue to operate from its current facilities in Amesbury, Wiltshire, UK, under the existing management team. Malvern’s direct sales operations in key geographies and wider global presence will be used to make the NanoSight instruments and aftersales support even more accessible to a wider market.

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