CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Sony Corp. announced at a celebration today (Feb. 10) that it had acquired iCyt Mission Technology Inc., a fast-growing University of Illinois Research Park biotechnology company.
iCyt’s flow cytometry machines use electronic devices to count, examine and sort cells and chromosomes for diagnostic and research purposes. iCyt’s customers include university research laboratories, major hospitals, private labs, as well as corporations, such as Monsanto.
The Sony acquisition represents a new venture into the health care market for the electronics giant offering potentially new and powerful applications of its optic, data-transmission and Blu-ray disc technologies. Keiji Kimura, Sony’s executive vice president, also cited his company’s bringing “expertise in manufacturing consumer products” to the enterprise.
iCyt (www.i-cyt.com), founded in 1995, moved its staff of two into the university’s research park incubator in 2000. In 2005, they moved into the iCyt Building, expanded and added manufacturing and assembly operations in 2007. The company now has 44 full-timeemployees.
iCyt founder and CEO Gary Durack continues to lead the new fully owned subsidiary of Sony Corp. of America (www.sony.com).
“The University, Research Park and community have all been very supportive of iCyt. They have helped us function like a big company and compete with big players in our industry,” Durack said.
“When Sony was evaluating our business, they appreciated the collaboration with the University and the facilities in the park that support our business. I am extremely thankful to the University, Fox/Atkins Development, our investors and the community for their support,” he added.
iCyt has collaborative research projects with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s College of Veterinary Medicine and its Institute for Genomic Biology with the Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana-Champaign (/www.igb.uiuc.edu/facilities&services/scf.html).
Local angel investors and IllinoisVENTURES (www.illinoisventures.com), the U of I’s early-stage technology investment firm, provided early-stage funding for iCyt, and Open Prairie Ventures provided additional funding.
Avijit Ghosh, University of Illinois vice president for technology and economic development, said iCyt’s fast progress is a 21st century prototype of starting with university-based research, growing the startup at the research park, making smart decisions about growth and taking products to market.
“Acquisition by Sony Corp. represents the next stage of iCyt’s growth into a major biotech player,” Ghosh said.
The U of I’s research park (researchpark5.wpenginepowered.com) celebrates its 10th birthday this year.
Sony news release: http://www.i-cyt.com/news/2010/sony-icyt-merger.htm
Contact:
Gary Durack Avijit Ghosh
CEO Vice President for Technology and
iCyt Economic Development
(217) 693-4500 (217) 265-5440
gary.durack@i-cyt.com vpted@uillinois.edu
Laura Appenzeller Frerichs
Director
University of Illinois Research Park
(217) 333- 8324
