Aclara Biosciences
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Medical technology |
| Predecessor | Soane BioSciences, Inc. |
| Founded | 1995 in Delaware, United States |
| Defunct | 2004 |
| Fate | Acquired by Virologic |
| Headquarters | Mountain View , United States |
| Products | eTag assay technology |
| Parent | Virologic (from 2004) |
Aclara Biosciences, Inc. (also presented as ACLARA Biosciences) operated as a medical technology firm focused on microfluidics solutions applied in laboratory diagnostics. The company was listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker ACLA.
History
Originally established in 1995 under the name Soane BioSciences, Inc. in Delaware, the enterprise adopted the name Aclara Biosciences, Inc. in 1998. Subsequently, it moved its main office to Mountain View, California. The firm launched its initial public offering on NASDAQ in March 2000, issuing 9 million shares.
During the year 2000, Aclara became involved in legal action initiated by Caliper Technologies, which accused it of misappropriating trade secrets related to microfluidic innovations. This dispute included several patent infringement claims between the two organizations. Ultimately, a jury in California ruled against Aclara for trade secret theft, resulting in a $52.6 million award to Caliper.
In 2004, Virologic agreed to purchase Aclara for an estimated $180 million through a stock transaction, pricing each share at $4.78. The deal was finalized in December 2004 for $160 million in stock consideration, with Aclara shareholders receiving 1.7 Virologic shares per Aclara share owned.
Products
Aclara held a portfolio of 96 patents, with its primary innovation being the proprietary eTag (electrophoretic tag) assay technology designed to detect proteins and nucleic acids. In October 2004, the company entered a collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline to assess eTag assays for applications in cancer drug development and selecting patients for targeted treatment options.