Sequenom, Inc. (Nasdaq: SQNM) today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2009. Total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2009 was $10.8 million, compared with $12.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2008.

GE Healthcare announces the launch of Sensor Chip CM7. Designed for use with GE Healthcare’s Biacore™ systems, Sensor Chip CM7 has the high immobilization capacity required to support fragment-based screening of small molecules.

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) today unveiled its new HumanOmniExpress+ Custom BeadChip (OmniExpress+), an enhancement to the recently announced OmniExpress BeadChip that allows for the addition of up to 200,000 custom variants for a total of >900k variants per sample. OmniExpress+ leverages the proven iSelect custom genotyping infrastructure to provide researchers with unlimited flexibility in adding custom content for disease or pathway-specific markers, rare variants from the 1,000 Genomes Project, or panels for fine-mapping onto the industry’s most optimal set of SNPs.

Sigma-Aldrich(R) (Nasdaq: SIAL) today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Ace Animals, Inc., a Berks County, PA.-based provider of high quality research rodents to the biomedical industry. Ace Animals (www.aceanimals.com), a commercial rodent breeder established in 1973, offers high quality products and contract breeding services, and will operate as part of Sigma Advanced Genetic Engineering (SAGE(TM)) Labs (www.sageresearchmodels.com), a Sigma(R) Life Science initiative. Terms and conditions of the agreement were not disclosed. Closing is expected shortly.

Luminex Corporation (Nasdaq: LMNX), the worldwide leader in multiplexed solutions, today announced that it has signed a teaming agreement with Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) to collaborate in the creation of next generation biodetectors that will continuously monitor the environment and serve as an early warning system to alert authorities regarding the release of potentially harmful airborne agents.

Caliper Life Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: CALP), a leading provider of tools and services for drug discovery and life sciences research, today announces that it has entered into a settlement agreement with Shimadzu Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiary Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, Inc., resolving a lawsuit filed by Caliper in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas that claimed that Shimadzu’s MultiNA microchip-based electrophoresis system infringed several U.S. patents relating to Caliper’s microfluidic LabChip® technology. Shimadzu denies infringement, but has discontinued sales of the MultiNA system in the United States. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Affymetrix, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFFX) today announced that Timothy Barabe has been appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the company. Barabe will lead the company’s financial functions as well as the treasury, investor relations, and information technology departments, reporting to Kevin King, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) today announced its Fault Detective Test Optimization and Diagnostic Software Version 4.7 delivers results from 10 to 1,000 times faster than previous versions. The new version expands support for multi-core processors and implements new algorithms that provide increased diagnostic rendering speed and improved accuracy.

Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ:ILMN) today announced that it has sequenced the DNA of American actress Glenn Close, the first publicly named female to have her DNA sequenced to full coverage. The service was completed in Illumina’s CLIA certified and CAP accredited laboratory utilizing Illumina’s Genome Analyzer technology and following the established process shown at http://www.everygenome.com/. Ms. Close’s DNA was sequenced to an average depth greater than 30 fold, providing information on SNP variation and allowing for the analysis of other structural characteristics of the genome such as insertions, deletions and rearrangements. Specifically, over 95% of the known genome was reported, including over 12 million genotype calls on previously documented SNPs. In addition, 379,000 SNPs previously not reported in any public database were found.

OVA1(TM), the first blood test cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for aiding in the pre-surgical evaluation of a woman’s ovarian mass for cancer, is now available nationally through Quest Diagnostics, Inc. (NYSE: DGX), the world’s leading cancer diagnostics provider. With the availability of OVA1, physicians can assess, prior to a planned surgery, the likelihood that a woman’s ovarian mass is malignant in order to direct her to the most appropriate surgeon, promoting more favorable treatment outcomes. Vermillion, Inc. (OTC: VRML.PK), a molecular diagnostics company, developed the test in cooperation with Quest Diagnostics.

Sequenom, Inc. (Nasdaq: SQNM), will report fourth quarter 2009 and full year financial results after market close on Monday, March 15, 2010. The company will conduct a conference call and an audio webcast at 1:30 pm Pacific Time (4:30 pm Eastern Time) on the same day.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), the world leader in serving science, has completed its previously announced acquisition of Finnzymes. The business is a well-recognized provider of integrated tools for high-performance polymerase chain reaction (PCR), including reagents, instruments, consumables and kits that make the PCR process faster and more accurate for applications including basic genomic research, genetic testing, forensics and food safety.

Affymetrix, Inc. (NASDAQ:AFFX) announced today that Jami Dover Nachtsheim and Nelson C. Chan have been appointed to the board of directors, effective March 8, 2010. The board appointed Ms. Nachtsheim to the Compensation Committee and Mr. Chan to the Audit Committee.

Affymetrix, Inc. (NASDAQ: AFFX) today announced the launch of the GeneAtlas(TM) System, a complete, personal solution for processing Affymetrix arrays and characterizing changes in gene expression in a variety of research applications.

Luminex Corporation (Nasdaq: LMNX) today announced that senior management will host an institutional investor and financial analyst luncheon on Thursday, March 25, 2010, at 11:00 a.m. EDT at the NASDAQ MarketSite, in New York City. Luminex management will review the Company’s financial progress, operating highlights and strategic initiatives, and will provide an update on product development activities followed by a question and answer session.