Biotage

About Biotage

The story of Biotage is one of evolution through strategic combination. While the modern company has roots stretching back to 1969 with a small startup in Wales, a key beginning was in 1989 when American entrepreneur Sheridan Snyder founded Biotage LLC to focus on drug discovery and purification systems. Separately, in Sweden, another thread of the story began with Pyrosequencing, which was founded in 1997 with venture capital and focused on DNA sequencing technology. Pivotal moments occurred through a series of mergers and acquisitions. In 2003, Pyrosequencing acquired Biotage LLC, and the combined entity became Biotage AB. This new company was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange following Pyrosequencing's IPO in 2000. This marked a significant step, creating a broader life sciences tool company. The acquisition playbook continued to be central to its strategy. In 2005, Biotage AB acquired the American company Argonaut Technologies' reagents and process instruments business, which itself was a product of consolidation, having been founded in 1994 by Larry Bock and Joel Martin. This strategy of growth through acquisition defined the company's journey, expanding its capabilities in separation technologies, sample preparation, and purification. Over the years, it acquired companies like MIP Technologies for its specialized polymers and the RapidTrace® and TurboVap® product lines from Caliper Life Sciences. In a major move in 2023, Biotage acquired Astrea Bioseparations for approximately $215 million, further strengthening its position in bioprocessing purification solutions. The company itself became an acquisition target, receiving a takeover offer from RWK BidCo in April 2025.