About Azenta

Azenta, Inc. provides biological and chemical compound sample exploration and management solutions for the life sciences industry. The company supports its customers from research and clinical development to commercialization with its sample management, automated storage, and genomic services expertise to help its customers bring impactful therapies to market faster. The company understands the importance of sample integrity and offers a broad portfolio of products and services supporting customers at every stage of the life cycle of samples, including procurement and sourcing, automated storage systems, genomic services and a multitude of sample consumables, informatics and data software, along with sample repository solutions (SRS). The company's expertise, global footprint, and leadership positions enable it to be a trusted global partner to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and life sciences research institutions. In total, the company has sales in approximately 150 countries. The company is a leading automation provider and partner to the global semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company's portfolio includes products and services offerings developed by it internally, as well as many offerings it has added through multiple acquisitions designed to bring together a comprehensive capability to serve its customers' needs in the sample-based services arena. The company continues to develop new products and services offerings and enhances existing and acquired offerings through the expertise of its research and development resources. Life Sciences Market The company's businesses serve a broad range of end markets within the life sciences industry to help its customers advance the development of therapies to improve people's lives and cure diseases. The company participates in this market as a value-added laboratory services provider, offering high quality genetic testing services with fast turnaround times. The company has more than 13,000 customers globally and is well positioned to expand its customer base. The company serves top pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, the most advanced research hospitals performing clinical research and therapy development, as well as some of the newest and leading-edge start-ups in the biotech space. In addition, the company serves academic and government institutions. Segments The company operates through two segments, Life Sciences Products and Life Sciences Services. Life Sciences Products segment Life Sciences Products business is a leading provider of automated cold storage solutions for biological and chemical compound samples. The company has a complete line of automated storage systems from ambient temperatures to -190°C. The company's sample management solutions include consumable vials and tubes, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), plates, instruments for supporting workflows, and informatics. This portfolio provides customers with the highest level of sample quality, security, availability, intelligence, and integrity throughout the lifecycle of samples providing customers with complete end-to-end 'cold-chain of custody' capabilities. On July 1, 2022, the company acquired Barkey Holding GmbH and its subsidiaries (Barkey), a leading provider of controlled rate thawing devices for customers in the medical, biotech and pharmaceutical industries. On October 3, 2022, the company acquired B Medical Systems S.á r.l and its subsidiaries (B Medical), a market leader in temperature-controlled storage and transportation solutions that enable the delivery of life-saving treatments to more than 150 countries worldwide. This acquisition complements its cold-chain capabilities, adding differentiated solutions for reliable and traceable transport of temperature-sensitive samples. Additionally, on February 2, 2023, the company acquired Ziath Ltd. and its subsidiaries (Ziath), a leading provider of 2D barcode readers for life sciences applications to complement its product offerings. Life Sciences Products Offerings The principal offerings of the Life Sciences Products segment include the following: Automated Cold Storage Solutions - includes stand-alone systems that store over 20 million samples in temperature ranges from ambient to -80°C to cryogenic storage at -190°C. The company's automated storage systems have a unique design that allows controlled temperature storage down to -80°C with the industry's highest throughput of sample retrieval. The company's systems provide high throughput capability and optimized storage of multi-format tubes and plates while maintaining consistent temperature profiles across stored samples. The company also offers a portfolio of service products designed to optimize productivity of its storage systems offerings. Consumables and Instruments - includes a complete range of consumables, including multiple formats of racks, tubes, caps, plates and foils, which are used for storage and handling of samples in ambient and ultra-cold storage environments. A comprehensive range of instruments used for labeling, bar coding, capping, de-capping, auditing, sealing, peeling, and piercing tubes and plates complement the company's consumables. The company's offerings include a range of products aimed at the genomic sample preparation and services market for PCR and sequencing, imaging, plate sealing, liquid handling, and sample processing. Controlled Rate Thawing Devices - includes a range of products for automated thawing of plasma, blood and stem cells, as well as in cell and gene therapy (CGT) applications. The company's products are used for controlled rate thawing of cryopreserved samples and therapies, and are used in research and development (R&D), clinical trials, good manufacturing practices and in the hospital setting. The company's Barkey plasmatherm product is the only automated cell thawing device approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as a medical device for use in patient care. Life Sciences Services segment Life Sciences Services business is a leading provider of solutions addressing the many needs of customers in the area of genomic analysis and the management and care of biological samples used in pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare, clinical, and academic research, and development markets. The company processes millions of samples every year, each containing valuable information that must be preserved with the sample. The company's genomic services provide a broad capability to customers for sequencing, synthesis, editing and related services. The company's sample management services include off-site storage services, transport services, laboratory services, and interactive informatics solutions. The company also offers expert-level consultation services to its clients throughout their experimental design and implementation processes. The company's services also include short- and long-term sample storage and management of the 'cold chain of custody' from collection, to storage, to retrieving the sample which ultimately may go back into the research workflow. Life Sciences Services Offerings The principal offerings of the Life Sciences Services segment include the following: Genomic Services - offers gene sequencing and gene synthesis services, enabling the fast-expanding research of gene-based healthcare discoveries and therapies. These service offerings include Next Generation sequencing (NGS), Sanger sequencing, gene synthesis, bioinformatics, and good laboratory practices (GLP) regulatory services. The sequencing services are available with both standard and custom services for extraction, library preparation, sequencing, and bioinformatics, supported by Ph.D.-level project managers providing consultations, updates, and post-delivery assistance. The gene synthesis offerings provide production of a wide range of sequence lengths and structural complexity, DNA cloning, gene fragment synthesis, oligo synthesis, and plasmid purification. Sample Repository Solutions - includes a complete range of services consisting of on-site and off-site sample storage, cold chain logistics, sample transport and collection relocation, bio-processing solutions, disaster recovery and business continuity, biospecimen procurement services, as well as project management and consulting. The company's informatics solutions provides sample intelligence software solutions, and support laboratory workflow scheduling for life science tools and instrument work cells, sample inventory and logistics, environmental and temperature monitoring, clinical trial and consent management, and planning, data management, virtualization, and visualization of sample collections. The company offers enhanced on-site and off-site management of biological sample inventories and integration solutions to its customers for their increasingly distributed workflows. Sales, Marketing and Customer Support Most of the company's sales are completed through its direct sales force, particularly its store systems, storage services, and genomic services. The company supplements the sale of consumables and instruments with distributors that reach a broad range of customers. In regions with emerging Life Sciences industries, the company leverages local distributors to assist with the sales process for automated stores, and utilize the capabilities of international procurement agencies, including UNICEF. Sales of genomic services are generally generated with on-line orders from the customer laboratory and delivered to and from its customers using a courier service, with the simplest of genomics and synthesis requests completed in less than 24 hours and more complex projects within weeks. Participation in trade shows, seminars, and industry forums are just a few of its marketing initiatives. The company also produces and distributes sales brochures, webinars, and white papers, and it publishes press releases and articles in business and industry publications. The company maintains sales and service centers in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America to enhance support of, and communication with, customers. The company typically provides product warranties for a period of one to two years depending on the product type, with some warranties of up to ten years for its solar powered cold chain products, as they are connected to real-time monitoring services. Competition In the Life Sciences Products segment, the company's main competitors include Hamilton Company and Liconic AG for automation systems, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. for consumables and services, and Vestfrost Solutions and Haier Biomedical for B Medical. In the Life Sciences Services segment, the company's main competitors include Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. for storage services, and BGI Genomics Co., Ltd., Eurofins, Scientific S.E., GenScript Biotech Corporation, Integrated DNA Technologies, Inc., Novogene Co., Ltd., and Twist Bioscience Corporation for genomic services. Service The company has service and support locations near its customers to provide rapid response to their service needs. The company's principal product service and support locations include Burlington, Massachusetts, and Manchester, United Kingdom. The company provides sample management storage and transportation services in Indianapolis and Plainfield, Indiana; Fresno, California; Cleveland, Ohio; Griesheim, Germany; Montreal, Canada; Singapore; and Beijing, China, and various locations throughout the United States. The company has a network of 14 laboratories that provide genomic services, including eight in the United States, three in China, and one each in Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Patents and Proprietary Rights As of September 30, 2023, the company owned approximately 94 issued U.S. patents, with various corresponding patents issued in foreign jurisdictions. The company also had approximately 37 pending U.S. patent applications, with foreign counterparts of some of these applications having been filed or which may be filed at the appropriate time. The company's patents will expire at various dates beginning in 2024 and running through 2039. Environmental Matters and Government Regulations Environmental Regulations The company is subject to various laws and governmental regulations concerning environmental matters and employee safety and health in the United States and other countries. Federal environmental legislation in the United States that affects the company includes the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act. The company is also subject to regulation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, concerning employee safety and health matters. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), OSHA, and other federal agencies have the authority to promulgate regulations that have an effect on the company's operations. The company's operations are also subject to other government regulations. The company's acquisitions of Barkey (Barkey Holding GmbH and its subsidiaries) and B Medical (B Medical Systems S.á r.l and its subsidiaries) include certain products that are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The company's businesses also include export and import activities, it is subject to pertinent laws enforced by the U.S. Departments of Commerce, State and Treasury. In addition, the company's logistics activities must comply with the rules and regulations of the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, and similar foreign agencies. History The company was founded in 1978. The company was incorporated in 1994. It was formerly known as Brooks Automation, Inc. and changed its name to Azenta, Inc. in December 2021.