PerkinElmer
Encyclopedia
PerkinElmer, Inc. is an American multinational
technology corporation, focused in the business areas of human and environmental health, including environmental analysis, food and consumer product safety, medical imaging, drug discovery, diagnostics, biotechnology, industrial applications, and life science research. PerkinElmer produces analytical instruments, genetic testing and diagnostic tools, medical imaging components, software, instruments, and consumables for multiple end markets.
PerkinElmer is part of the S&P 500
index and operates in 150 countries. As of 2010, it has a market capitalization
of ~3.0 billion.
companies, EG&G
Inc. (formerly ) of Wellesley, Massachusetts
and Perkin-Elmer (formerly ) of Norwalk, Connecticut
. On May 28, 1999, the non-government side of EG&G Inc. purchased the Analytical Instruments Division of Perkin-Elmer, its traditional business segment, for US$425 million, also assuming the Perkin-Elmer name and forming the new PerkinElmer company, with new officers and a new Board of Directors. At the time, EG&G made products for diverse industries including automotive, medical, aerospace and photography.
The old Perkin-Elmer Board of Directors and Officers remained at that reorganized company under its new name, PE Corporation. It had been the Life Sciences
division of Perkin-Elmer, and its two component tracking stock
business groups, Celera Genomics
and PE Biosystems (formerly ), were centrally involved in the highest profile biotechnology
events of the decade, the intense race against the Human Genome Project
consortium, which then resulted in the genomics
segment of the technology bubble.
EG&G
began in 1931; It was started by two MIT professors, Harold Edgerton and Kenneth Germeshausen in a Boston garage. The company was originally incorporated in 1947 as EG&G
.
Perkin-Elmer was founded in 1937 by Richard Perkin
and Charles Elmer as an optical design and consulting company. In 1944, Perkin-Elmer entered the analytical-instruments business, and in the early 1990s, partnered with Cetus Corporation
(and later Hoffmann-La Roche
) to pioneer the polymerase chain reaction
(PCR) equipment industry. Analytical-instruments business was also operated from 1954 to 2001 in Germany, by the Bodenseewerk Perkin-Elmer GmbH located in Überlingen
at Lake Constance
.
Perkin-Elmer was commissioned to build the optical components of the Hubble Space Telescope
. The construction of the main mirror was begun in 1979 and completed in 1981. The polishing process ran over budget and behind schedule, producing significant friction with NASA
. Due to a miscalibrated null corrector
, the primary mirror was also found to have a significant spherical aberration
after reaching orbit on STS-31
. A NASA investigation heavily criticized Perkin-Elmer for management failings, disregarding written quality guidelines, and ignoring test data that showed this miscalibration. Corrective optics were installed on the telescope during the first Hubble service and repair mission STS-61
. The correction, COSTAR, was applied entirely to the secondary mirror and replaced existing instrumentation: the primary mirror still has a significant aberration.
. In 1997 they merged with PerSeptive Biosystems. On July 14, 1999 the new analytical instruments maker PerkinElmer cut 350 jobs, or 12%, in its cost reduction reorganization. In 2006 PerkinElmer sold off the Fluid Sciences division for approximately $400M, the aim on the sell off was to increase the strategic focus on its higher-growth health sciences and photonic markets. Following on from the sell off a number of leading /dynamic small businesses were acquired, these included Spectral Genomics, Improvision, Evotec-Technologies, Euroscreen, ViaCell and Avalon Instruments. The brand "Evotec-Technologies" remains the property of Evotec, the former owner company. PerkinElmer had a license to use the brand till the end of year 2007.
PerkinElmer has continued to expands its interest in medicine with the acquisitions of clinical laboratories, In July 2006, it acquired NTD Labs located on Long Island, New York. The laboratory specializes in prenatal screening during the first trimester of pregnancy. In October 2007, it purchased ViaCell, Inc. with its offices in Boston and cord blood storage facility in Kentucky near Cincinnati. The company was renamed ViaCord.
In March 2008, PerkinElmer purchased Pediatrix Screening (formerly Neo Gen Screening), a laboratory located in Bridgeville, PA specializing in screening newborns for various inborn errors of metabolism such as phenylketonuria, hypothyroidism, and sickle cell disease. It renamed the laboratory PerkinElmer Genetics, Inc.
In May 2011, PerkinElmer announced the signature of an agreement to acquire CambridgeSoft
, and the successful acquisition of ArtusLabs.
In September 2011, PerkinElmer bought Caliper Life Sciences for $600 million.
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
technology corporation, focused in the business areas of human and environmental health, including environmental analysis, food and consumer product safety, medical imaging, drug discovery, diagnostics, biotechnology, industrial applications, and life science research. PerkinElmer produces analytical instruments, genetic testing and diagnostic tools, medical imaging components, software, instruments, and consumables for multiple end markets.
PerkinElmer is part of the S&P 500
S&P 500
The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those of large publicly held companies that trade on either of the two largest American stock...
index and operates in 150 countries. As of 2010, it has a market capitalization
Market capitalization
Market capitalization is a measurement of the value of the ownership interest that shareholders hold in a business enterprise. It is equal to the share price times the number of shares outstanding of a publicly traded company...
of ~3.0 billion.
History
PerkinElmer traces its history back to a merger between divisions of what had been two S&P 500S&P 500
The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those of large publicly held companies that trade on either of the two largest American stock...
companies, EG&G
EG&G
EG&G, formally known as Edgerton, Germeshausen, and Grier, Inc., is a United States national defense contractor and provider of management and technical services. The company was involved in contracting services to the United States government during World War II, and conducted weapons research and...
Inc. (formerly ) of Wellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Wellesley is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of Greater Boston. The population was 27,982 at the time of the 2010 census.It is best known as the home of Wellesley College and Babson College...
and Perkin-Elmer (formerly ) of Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County...
. On May 28, 1999, the non-government side of EG&G Inc. purchased the Analytical Instruments Division of Perkin-Elmer, its traditional business segment, for US$425 million, also assuming the Perkin-Elmer name and forming the new PerkinElmer company, with new officers and a new Board of Directors. At the time, EG&G made products for diverse industries including automotive, medical, aerospace and photography.
The old Perkin-Elmer Board of Directors and Officers remained at that reorganized company under its new name, PE Corporation. It had been the Life Sciences
Life sciences
The life sciences comprise the fields of science that involve the scientific study of living organisms, like plants, animals, and human beings. While biology remains the centerpiece of the life sciences, technological advances in molecular biology and biotechnology have led to a burgeoning of...
division of Perkin-Elmer, and its two component tracking stock
Tracking stock
Tracking stock or targeted stock are specialized equity offerings issued by a company that is based on the operations of a wholly owned subsidiary of a diversified firm. Therefore, the tracking stock will be traded at a price related to the operations of the specific division of the company being...
business groups, Celera Genomics
Celera Genomics
Celera Corporation was a business unit of the Applera Corporation, but was spun off in July 2008 to become an independent publicly traded company. In May 2011 Quest Diagnostics Incorporated completed the acquisition of Celera, which thus became a wholly owned subsidiary...
and PE Biosystems (formerly ), were centrally involved in the highest profile biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
events of the decade, the intense race against the Human Genome Project
Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project is an international scientific research project with a primary goal of determining the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA, and of identifying and mapping the approximately 20,000–25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional...
consortium, which then resulted in the genomics
Genomics
Genomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...
segment of the technology bubble.
EG&G
EG&G
EG&G, formally known as Edgerton, Germeshausen, and Grier, Inc., is a United States national defense contractor and provider of management and technical services. The company was involved in contracting services to the United States government during World War II, and conducted weapons research and...
began in 1931; It was started by two MIT professors, Harold Edgerton and Kenneth Germeshausen in a Boston garage. The company was originally incorporated in 1947 as EG&G
EG&G
EG&G, formally known as Edgerton, Germeshausen, and Grier, Inc., is a United States national defense contractor and provider of management and technical services. The company was involved in contracting services to the United States government during World War II, and conducted weapons research and...
.
Perkin-Elmer was founded in 1937 by Richard Perkin
Richard Scott Perkin
Richard "Dick" Scott Perkin was an American entrepreneur.At an early age he developed an interest in astronomy, and began making telescopes and grinding lenses and mirrors. He only spent a year in college studying chemical engineering before he began working at a brokerage firm on Wall...
and Charles Elmer as an optical design and consulting company. In 1944, Perkin-Elmer entered the analytical-instruments business, and in the early 1990s, partnered with Cetus Corporation
Cetus Corporation
Cetus Corporation was one of the first biotechnology companies. It was established in Berkeley, California in 1971, but conducted most of its operations in nearby Emeryville. Before merging with another company in 1991, it developed several significant pharmaceutical drugs as well as a...
(and later Hoffmann-La Roche
Hoffmann-La Roche
F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. is a Swiss global health-care company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange....
) to pioneer the polymerase chain reaction
Polymerase chain reaction
The polymerase chain reaction is a scientific technique in molecular biology to amplify a single or a few copies of a piece of DNA across several orders of magnitude, generating thousands to millions of copies of a particular DNA sequence....
(PCR) equipment industry. Analytical-instruments business was also operated from 1954 to 2001 in Germany, by the Bodenseewerk Perkin-Elmer GmbH located in Überlingen
Überlingen
Überlingen is a city on the northern shore of Lake Constance . After the city of Friedrichshafen, it is the second largest city in the Bodenseekreis , and a central point for the outlying communities...
at Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
.
Hubble optics failure
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
. The construction of the main mirror was begun in 1979 and completed in 1981. The polishing process ran over budget and behind schedule, producing significant friction with NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
. Due to a miscalibrated null corrector
Null corrector
A null corrector is an optical device used in the testing of large aspheric mirrors. A spherical mirror of any size can be tested relatively easily using standard optical components such as laser, mirrors, beamsplitters, and converging lenses. One method of doing this using a Shack cube is shown...
, the primary mirror was also found to have a significant spherical aberration
Spherical aberration
thumb|right|Spherical aberration. A perfect lens focuses all incoming rays to a point on the [[Optical axis|optic axis]]. A real lens with spherical surfaces suffers from spherical aberration: it focuses rays more tightly if they enter it far from the optic axis than if they enter closer to the...
after reaching orbit on STS-31
STS-31
STS-31 was the thirty-fifth mission of the American Space Shuttle program, which launched the Hubble Space Telescope astronomical observatory into Earth orbit...
. A NASA investigation heavily criticized Perkin-Elmer for management failings, disregarding written quality guidelines, and ignoring test data that showed this miscalibration. Corrective optics were installed on the telescope during the first Hubble service and repair mission STS-61
STS-61
STS-61 was the first Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, and the fifth flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The mission launched on 2 December 1993 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission restored the spaceborne observatory's vision, marred by spherical aberration, with the...
. The correction, COSTAR, was applied entirely to the secondary mirror and replaced existing instrumentation: the primary mirror still has a significant aberration.
PerkinElmer today
In 1992 the company merged with Applied BiosystemsApplied Biosystems
Applied Biosystems, Inc. started as GeneCo , was the name of a pioneer biotechnology company founded in 1981 in Foster City, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area...
. In 1997 they merged with PerSeptive Biosystems. On July 14, 1999 the new analytical instruments maker PerkinElmer cut 350 jobs, or 12%, in its cost reduction reorganization. In 2006 PerkinElmer sold off the Fluid Sciences division for approximately $400M, the aim on the sell off was to increase the strategic focus on its higher-growth health sciences and photonic markets. Following on from the sell off a number of leading /dynamic small businesses were acquired, these included Spectral Genomics, Improvision, Evotec-Technologies, Euroscreen, ViaCell and Avalon Instruments. The brand "Evotec-Technologies" remains the property of Evotec, the former owner company. PerkinElmer had a license to use the brand till the end of year 2007.
PerkinElmer has continued to expands its interest in medicine with the acquisitions of clinical laboratories, In July 2006, it acquired NTD Labs located on Long Island, New York. The laboratory specializes in prenatal screening during the first trimester of pregnancy. In October 2007, it purchased ViaCell, Inc. with its offices in Boston and cord blood storage facility in Kentucky near Cincinnati. The company was renamed ViaCord.
In March 2008, PerkinElmer purchased Pediatrix Screening (formerly Neo Gen Screening), a laboratory located in Bridgeville, PA specializing in screening newborns for various inborn errors of metabolism such as phenylketonuria, hypothyroidism, and sickle cell disease. It renamed the laboratory PerkinElmer Genetics, Inc.
In May 2011, PerkinElmer announced the signature of an agreement to acquire CambridgeSoft
CambridgeSoft
CambridgeSoft was a cheminformatics software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The company was founded in 1986 by Stewart Rubenstein, then a graduate student in chemistry at Harvard University, and ended operations as an independent company in 2011. The historical main product is the...
, and the successful acquisition of ArtusLabs.
In September 2011, PerkinElmer bought Caliper Life Sciences for $600 million.
Focus areas
- Cellular research
- Clinical genetics & diagnostics
- Drug discovery
- Environmental Analysis - Air, water, and soil testing and analysis
- EcoAnalytix
- Food, Flavors & Agricultural Analysis - Food safety
- Forensic analysis
- Hydrocarbon processing
- Life science research
- Lubricants and oils
- Imaging, lighting, sensors
- Pharmaceutical development and manufacturing
- Polymers
- Semiconductors and electronics
- Renewable Energy - Analysis and testing for biofuels, solar, and wind energy
See also
- Interdata, acquired in 1973.
- Concurrent Computer CorporationConcurrent Computer CorporationConcurrent Computer Corporation is a developer and provider of Video on demand systems to Multiple Service Organizations. Concurrent's On-Demand technology is based on off-the-shelf hardware and customized open-source software including RedHawk Linux, a customized version of Red Hat Enterprise...
, spun off in 1985. - Laboratory equipmentLaboratory equipmentLaboratory equipment refers to the various tools and equipment used by scientists working in a laboratory. These include tools such as Bunsen burners, and microscopes as well as speciality equipment such as operant conditioning chambers, spectrophotometers and calorimeters...
External links
- PerkinElmer Corporate website
- PerkinElmer Announces New Business Alignment Focused on Improving Human and Environmental Health
- SEC filings for PerkinElmer, Inc.
- EcoAnalytix Initiative website
- Environmental Analysis Market Site
- Melamine in Food resource page
- Consumer Product Safety resource page
- Life and Analytical Sciences website
- Optoelectronics website
- Press Release: Acquisition of Avalon Instruments