Celera buys stake in Japan's HuBit Genomix

Celera Genomics has signed an agreement to acquire a minority interestin HuBit Genomix, a biotechnology company based in Japan. The latter firm was founded as Medical Genome Systems in April 2000 and focuses on the discovery and association of single nucleotide polymorphisms. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Craig Venter, Celera's president and chief scientific officer, said that the agreement represents an important opportunity for both companies as it should allow HuBit to expand its R&D in analyzing genetic variation, "potentially involving Celera as a business and scientific partner in these important areas." He went on to praise HuBit's management team, adding that it "encompasses some of the finest scientific and business leaders in Japan."

Further Japanese expansion planned