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Interest in stem cells is step up for Invitrogen

By Catherine Larkin - BLOOMBERG NEWS
Updated: 11/27/07 6:49 AM


WASHINGTON — Invitrogen Inc., the best performer this year on the Amex Biotechnology Index, will benefit from increased interest in stem cells and biomedical research around the world, Chief Executive Officer Gregory Lucier said.

The Carlsbad, Calif.-based company sells more than 25,000 products that help researchers examine cells, identify genes and discover new medicines. Earnings have risen faster than analysts’ expected this year, and Lucier said demand from Europe and emerging markets in China and India will drive growth.

The company has a plant on Grand Island, N.Y., that makes food for cells. The plant is a significant piece of the growing biotech industry in Western New York.

Sales have done well in Europe because governments there consistently support biomedical research, and in the emerging markets where drug companies are shifting more research, Lucier said.

Invitrogen is also developing new tools for stem-cell research and other regenerative technologies that may also “be really explosive in terms of demand,” he said.