Our History

Spanning Five Decades

Our story goes back as far as 1969, when a small start-up in Wales pioneered a range of columns and consumables for GC and LC. Through years of acquisitions and merges, that business evolved into what Biotage is today: a global company dedicated to developing high quality products for advancements in life science.

2022

• Launched the Biotage® Turbovap® 96 Dual for the evaporation of samples in 96 well plates.
• Launched the Biotage® Selekt Enkel flash purification system, expanding the versatility of the Selekt product portfolio.
• Launched the Biotage® Extrahera^TM HV-5000, for the processing of large sample volumes in 96 well plates.

2021

• Acquired ATDBio, a leading manufacturer of high quality, complex oligonucleotides for the diagnostic and therapeutic markets.
• Launched the Biotage® Extrahera^TM LV-200, for the processing of low sample volumes in 96 well plates.

2020

• Launched the Biotage® PhyPrep Maxi Mega Giga, an automated platform for the purification of plasmid DNA.

2019

• Acquired PhyNexus and their automated high-throughput protein and plasmid purification technology.
• Tomas Blomquist was appointed CEO. 

2018

• Launch of the Biotage® Selekt flash purification system.
• Launch of the Biotage® Sfär range of flash purification columns. 
• Biotage aqcuired Horizon Technology and their range of environmental sample preparation products. 
• Launch of ISOLUTE® DME+ for removal of matrix components and hydrolysis enzyme from urine samples, using a simple pass through workflow.

2017

• Launch of a new TurboVap® product line with totally revamped technology and functions.
• Release of Biotage® SNAP Bio flash cartridges for purification of peptides.
• ISOLUTE® Filter+ high performance filtration plates launched.
• Biotage expanded the analytical sales organization to cover Italy.
• Biotage commenced direct sales in India. Our sales office is located in Delhi.

2016

• Biotage launched the updated evaporation system Biotage®V-10 Touch.
• Launch of ISOLUTE and EVOLUTE On-line SPE cartridges for integrated SPE-HPLC systems.
• Biotage invested SEK 19M for approximately 22 percent of the shares in the Danish company Chreto ApS, as part of its strategic investment in the purification of biomolecules.
• Biotage commenced direct sales in South Korea via the Company’s newly started sales company in Seoul.

2014

• The evolved concept for flash purification, ACI™ Accelerated Chromatographic Isolation, was introduced in June.
• Biotage® Extrahera™ automated sample processor launched in October.

2013

• Launch of ISOLUTE® Myco, a convenient and effective sample preparation product targeting mycotoxin in foodstuffs.
• Biotage brings mass detection to flash chromatography with Isolera™ Dalton, the first commercial product to add mass detection to the purification process in one system.
• A new instrument manufacturing facility was inaugurated in Wales, moving production in-house and providing improved control of the building and quality assurance processes.
• The biotage.com website was re-built from scratch and launched on October 1st.
• ISOLUTE® PLD+ plate were introduced, combining protein and phospholipid removal prior to LC-MS/MS.

2012

• Release of Biotage® SNAP Ultra flash cartridges, packed with 25 μm spherical Biotage® HP-Sphere silica providing 40% more surface area.
• Biotage launched the new series of flash consumables, Biotage ZIP® Sphere.
• The fully automated peptide synthesizer Biotage® Initiator+ Alstra™ was released in September.
• Isolera™ Spektra software was released, adding superior functionality to Isolera™ flash purification platforms.
• EVOLUTE® EXPRESS 96-well processing plate was released. 
• A pilot plant for large scale production of MIPs was established in Lund, Sweden.

2011

• The office in Shangai, China was established.
• Isolera™ Prime entry-level system is added to the Isolera™ family of flash purification instruments.
• Biotage® Initiator organic microwave synthesizer is upgraded to the successor Biotage® Initiator+.
• Biotage® Initiator+ SP Wave, a semi-automated instrument for peptide synthesis is introduced
• Biotage expands its sales organization to the market in Latin America.

2010

• Biotage AB acquired MIP Technologies and its range of molecularly imprinted polymers, now offering ready-made MIPs and custom resins to industrial scale customers.
• Biotage launched Syro Wave™, a new system for peptide synthesis that combines microwave-assisted synthesis and parallel synthesis, as a result of a joint development project between Biotage and MultiSynTech.
• Biotage acquired the RapidTrace® and TurboVap® product lines with related assets from Caliper Life Sciences, Inc.

2009

• Production was moved from the factory in Charlottesville, Virginia to contracted manufacturers and Biotage’s own factory in Cardiff, Wales.
• Biotage entered into a partnership with the German company Multi-SynTech GmbH, involving distribution rights for peptide synthesis systems and the establishment of a joint development project.

2008

• Biotage launched the new Pyrosequencing® platform PyroMark™ Q24.
• Launch of the new flash purification system Isolera™.
• The biosystems branch of Biotage AB and the Pyrosequencing brand was sold to Qiagen.
• Qiagen acquired Biotage’s shares in Corbett.

2007

• Biotage® SNAP flash line of purification cartridges was released.

2006

• Biotage acquired exclusive distribution, manufacturing and further development rights for the Vapourtec solvent evaporator system, V-10.
• Torben Jörgensen was appointed Jeff Bork’s successor as President of Biotage AB.

2005

• Biotage AB acquired the reagents and process instruments business of the American company Argonaut Technologies, thereby assimilating a full offering of consumables for sample preparation and flash chromatography.
• Biotage AB acquired Separtis Holding AG, distributor of many Biotage products in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, thereby gaining direct access to the markets in central Europe.

2004

• Launch of a new system for microwave synthesis, Initiator.
• Launch of the flash purification platform SP 1.
• The company’s research and development resources were relocated to Uppsala.
• The alliance with Corbett in Europe was discontinued.
• The registration of the PSQ 96MA and PSQ HS 96 A systems were approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States.
• Biotage took fourth place in the European Fast 500 contest, which ranked the 500 fastest growing European technology companies between 1999 and 2003. The company also won the Swedish equivalent, the Sweden Technology Fast 50.

2003

• Pyrosequencing acquired Personal Chemistry.
• Pyrosequencing acquired Biotage LLC, forming the new company Biotage AB.

2002

• Argonaut acquired Jones Chromatography and IST, merging the three companies together.
• Biotage expanded its HPFC line and introduced the Horizon Pioneer™ system.
• The 1,000,000th flash chromatography cartridge was shipped from Biotage LLC. 
• Pyrosequencing launched the second generation genetic analysis systems, PSQ 96MA and PSQ HS 96A.
• Pyrosequencing entered into an agreement with Corbett regarding the distribution of Corbett’s products in the US and parts of the European markets.

2001

• Biotage launched Horizon HPFC system, the first modular high-performance flash purification product.
• Personal Chemistry acquired EsyTec.

2000

• MIP Technologies was founded in Lund, Sweden by Christine Berggren and Kees Ensing, specializing in producing selective separation materials by imprinting target molecules in polymers.
• Biotage introduced Samplet® sample loading cartridge concept to flash chemists.
• Biotage released redesigned compression modules for FLASH 12+ and FLASH 40+, and added FLASH 25+ tot the product range. 
• Initial Public Offering for Pyrosequencing, listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
• EsyTech was founded in Sweden.

1999

• Pyrosequencing established subsidiaries in the US and a sales organization covering the EU.
• Labwell received 100 MSEK in venture capital from four investors in England, Denmark and Sweden. The company was renamed Personal Chemistry.

1998

• Venture capitalist HealthCap invested 15 MSEK in Labwell.

1997

• With venture capital from HealthCap, Pyrosequencing AB was founded in Uppsala, Sweden, specializing in developing instruments for sequencing DNA strands and building on technique developed at The Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Stockholm. 
• Biotage introduced Parrallex™ HPLC system, the first parallel HPLC system designed to purify combinatorial chemistry libraries.
• FlashMaster serial flash chromatography system for high throughput was launched by Jones Chromatography.

1994

• Biotage launched Flash 75 and Flash 150 flash chromatography systems using pre-packed cartridges and revolutionized the purification of gram to kilogram quantities of synthetic organic reaction mixtures and the isolation of natural products.
• Argonaut Technologies was founded in California by Larry Bock and Joel Martin. 
• Microwave synthesis startup Labwell was founded based on research and patents by Professor Sharon Stone-Elander at Karolinska Insitutet, Stockholm. Scientist and entrepreneur Sören Nygren was brought in as co-founder.

1992

• Jones Chromatography formed its sister company International Sorbent Technologies (IST), manufacturing sample preparation products.

1989

• American entrepreneur Sheridan Snyder founded Biotage LLC. The business was focused on systems for drug discovery and purification.

1979

• Jones Chromatography establishes its branch Jones Chromatography Inc. in the USA, expanding the business into HPLC columns, flash instruments and a wide range of laboratory accessories.

1969

• Jones Chromatography was founded in Wales by Colin Jones, specializing in GC columns.