On Aug. 30, 2011, Amnis, a Seattle-based manufacturer of advanced cell imaging systems, announced the company had been acquired by EMD Millipore, the Life Science division of Merck KGaA of Germany. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Amnis generated sales of USD 14 million (EUR 10 million) in 2010 and has maintained a compound annual growth rate in excess of 80% since 2005. The acquisition will allow Amnis to expand its growth potential via EMD Millipore’s global footprint, reagent expertise, and R&D resources. The acquisition will also complement EMD Millipore’s Guava flow cytometry product range.

Amnis, headquartered in Seattle, WA, develops, manufactures and markets instrumentation for high speed cell imaging for research and diagnostic markets. The Company’s ImageStreamX and FlowSight imaging flow cytometers combine the speed and sensitivity of flow cytometry with the power of digital microscopy serving a broad spectrum of Life Sciences research market needs. As the only technology capable of imaging cells at high speed directly in bodily fluids, Amnis cytometers are being evaluated for unique, non-invasive diagnostic applications. Amnis was founded in 1999 and has generated ~80% annualized revenue growth since release of the Company’s first product in 2005. The Company holds 39 issued US patents and has 55 pending patent applications covering Amnis’ powerful architecture, subsystems and applications for imaging both in flow and on substrates. Amnis has benefited from a strong investor group that included MedVenture Associates, Crown Venture Fund, and OrbiMed Capital.