Fisher deal for Cellomics was in works for months

Cellomics Inc. founder D. Lansing Taylor said yesterday that Hampton, N.H.-based Fisher Scientific International Inc.'s $49 million deal to buy out Cellomics had been in the works for about six to eight months, and that the company had been for sale for a couple of years. Taylor said he, CEO Daniel Calvo and other investors were ready for an "exit." Initial public offerings, once so popular with superhot technology and biotech companies in the late 1990s and 2000, are now a thing of the past, Taylor said.

"Cellomics had to focus the last few years on reaching profitability and growing its emerging market," he said, adding that he thought management had done a nice job of shaping up the company, despite the tech downturn.

While Cellomics, which employs about 50, was keeping its nose to the ground, it was also licensing its technology to future competitors to grow the market for its specialized technology, which develops instruments and software that automate tests of new pharmaceutical compounds. Now that the market is thriving, Taylor said players such as GE Healthcare presented a real challenge for the Cellomics, which was founded in 1997.

Taylor said the strategy behind selling the company was three-fold -- striking a deal that would keep Cellomics in the region, generate a return for investors and help it gain stronger footing in the biotech industry. Mission accomplished, according to Taylor, who has since moved on to found Cellumen Inc. Next week, start-up Cellumen is moving from its current space in the Hazelwood-based Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse to Jane Street on the South Side, to better accommodate its staff of six.

Fritz Bittenbender, president of Pennsylvania BIO, the industry group representing Pennsylvania biotech companies, is jumping ship to become the director of corporate affairs at suburban Philadelphia pharmaceutical giant Cephalon Inc. Bittenbender, 34, has been at the Malvern-based BIO's helm since December 2002, after serving on the staff of former Gov. Tom Ridge for eight years. Bittenbender's contract was up in October, he said, and with plenty of nonprofit and government work under his belt, he wanted to try something new. "It's essential for my career to have some corporate experience," he said, noting that he got a great offer from Cephalon. Pennsylvania BIO has not yet begun its search for leadership but expects to begin next week.

Downtown-based Morgan Lewis & Bockius attorney Eric Kline will pitch Pittsburgh as a potential nanotechnology hub when he appears on "Our Region's Business" tomorrow on WPXI. Kline said Pittsburgh had the ingredients -- strong research departments in physics, engineering and chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. "It's tying a bow around that stuff and beginning to spin out technologies to companies that are here," he said. Kline said the region needed to focus on luring large companies to sponsor research (and specialized nanotechnology equipment) at local universities and assembling even more talent to conduct that research. Ensuring that all of the relevant research departments are on the same page, won't hurt either. Penn State University is already working on these initiatives; the challenge is for the region to keep the pace.

A couple of local start-ups are shedding their old space for newer, bigger digs to accommodate their growing staffs. DesignAdvance Systems Inc. , the software firm headed by Randy Eager, moved into the Crane Building in the Strip District last week. Temporarily housed in 3,000 square feet, DesignAdvance Systems will move to 6,000 square feet later in the year.

The company also has lured two new executives and officially launched its product, "CircuitSpace," specialized software that aids in the design of circuit boards. The company has added Chris Valas, former vice president of engineering at Pine-based CoManage Corp., to hold the same title at the 13-person firm. Howard Coltin, has arrived from Boston to serve as the vice president of sales.

The other company trading space is refurbished business software and services provider Seec Inc. Led by New Zealand native Shane Tulloch, Seec yesterday signed a deal for 7,700 square feet in the SouthSide Works.

South Side-based Ansoft Corp.'s founder and chief technology officer, Zoltan Cendes, exercised $3.64 million in stock options last year, on top of his $300,000 salary and $3,000 bonus, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company's stock also has fared well, climbing from $12.73 at this time last year to yesterday's close of $26.40.