Life Technologies

What Life Technologies does

Life Technologies Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO), developing and supplying biotechnology instruments, reagents, consumables, and software for life science research, clinical diagnostics, drug development, and industrial applications. The company's legal entity is incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Carlsbad, California, with operational terms and customer transactions governed under the Life Technologies Corporation name; Thermo Fisher Scientific maintains the corporate headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts. The portfolio spans proprietary technology platforms including TaqMan Real-Time PCR Assays, Ion Torrent semiconductor sequencing, the Olink Proximity Extension Assay (PEA) proteomics platform (Olink Explore covering 5,400+ proteins), Invitrogen antibodies, Gibco cell culture media, One Lambda HLA typing and transplant diagnostics, and Thermo Scientific Selectris Cryo-EM technology. Brands are distributed across Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Gibco, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon (CDMO), PPD (CRO), and One Lambda.

The business operates across six primary revenue streams: (1) Life Science Products (instruments, equipment, consumables, reagents, antibodies, chemicals, and lab plasticware sold across multiple brands); (2) CDMO Services via Patheon, operating from more than 65 global locations covering API, biologics, viral vectors, cGMP plasmids, and commercial manufacturing; (3) Clinical Research Services via PPD, covering all phases of clinical development and laboratory services for pharma, biotech, medical device, and government clients; (4) Instrument Services through Unity Lab Services, supported by over 2,000 factory-certified engineers; (5) Clinical Diagnostic Products via One Lambda for HLA labs and transplant clinical teams; and (6) Laboratory Informatics, including subscription software and the Athena imaging data management platform. Distribution combines enterprise field sales, inside sales, direct e-commerce at thermofisher.com, the Fisher Scientific marketplace offering over 2.5 million products, OEM/commercial supply, and Patheon/PPD direct sales.

Customer segments include pharmaceutical and biopharma companies, biotechnology firms, CDMOs, diagnostic laboratories, healthcare providers, industrial manufacturers (microelectronics, semiconductors, battery, medical devices, food and beverage), government organizations, and science education customers. Pricing spans list price (pay-as-you-go), negotiated annual contract pricing for institutions, online-exclusive promotions of up to 50% off, and multi-year contracts for complex instrumentation with access/setup fees and freight handling. The parent company's annual revenue exceeds $45 billion, and the broader organization employs over 10,000 people, supporting significant R&D investment and continued acquisition activity including the September 2025 acquisition of Solventum's Purification and Filtration business.

Name

Life Technologies

Legal name

Life Technologies Corporation

Website

https://thermofisher.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Life Technologies Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Thermo Fisher Scientific, develops life science instruments, reagents, and consumables alongside CDMO (Patheon) and CRO (PPD) services. It serves pharmaceutical, biotech, CDMO, diagnostic, healthcare, industrial, and government customers globally through brands including Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Gibco, and Fisher Scientific.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Life Sciences Instruments and Reagents

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), In-Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing (325413)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834), Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836), In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835)

akta.pro primary industry

Biologics (mAbs/Recombinant Proteins) CDMO (HLAGABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

mRNA & Nucleic Acid Manufacturing Services (mRNA/saRNA/Plasmid DNA) (HLAGAGAC), Cell Therapy CDMO (HLAGABAD), Clinical Trial Material (CTM) Manufacturing & Supply CDMO (HLAGABAK), Manufacturing Quality Assurance & GMP Compliance (batch release, deviation/CAPA, tech transfer QA) (HLAGAKAJ)

Keywords

• Life science instruments
• Molecular biology reagents
• CDMO services
• Clinical diagnostics
• Lab consumables

Headquarters

HQ city

Carlsbad

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Life Science Products: Sale of instruments, equipment, consumables, reagents, antibodies, chemicals, and lab plasticware for research, clinical, and industrial applications. Products sold under Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Gibco, and Fisher Scientific brands.
2. CDMO Services (Patheon): Contract development and manufacturing organization services including API, biologics, viral vector services, cGMP plasmids, early and late phase development, clinical trial solutions, logistics services, and commercial manufacturing. Operates from more than 65 global locations.
3. Clinical Research Services (PPD): Clinical development and analytical services covering early development, all phases of clinical development, peri- and post-approval, and comprehensive laboratory services. Serves pharma, biotech, medical device, and government organizations.
4. Instrument Services (Unity Lab Services): Laboratory service and support including training, equipment servicing and asset management, supply management, compliance services, maintenance, calibration and repair, and instrument service plans.
5. Clinical Diagnostic Products (One Lambda): HLA typing, antibody detection, and transplant diagnostic products for HLA labs and transplant clinical teams. Includes testing services for pharma, biopharma, and academia.
6. Laboratory Informatics: Digital solutions and lab informatics services including software for data management, eProcurement B2B integration, and Athena imaging data management platform for core labs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion5 records

Distribution channels9 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Life Technologies Corporation develops and sells biotechnology instruments, reagents, consumables, and integrated systems for life science research, drug discovery, and clinical diagnostics, alongside end-to-end CDMO and CRO services through Patheon and PPD. Products are sold under the Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Gibco, and Fisher Scientific brands, with additional offerings in clinical transplant diagnostics via One Lambda and laboratory service and support through Unity Lab Services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TaqMan Real-Time PCR Assays Real-time PCR assays for gene expression, SNP genotyping, copy number variation, and miRNA analysis, used by researchers in molecular biology, genomics, and clinical research laboratories.
• Invitrogen Antibodies Primary and secondary antibodies for western blot, flow cytometry, and other research applications, validated for specificity and used by life science researchers globally.
• Oligos, Primers, Probes and Genes Custom oligonucleotides, primers, probes, and synthetic genes for molecular biology research, including GeneArt Gene Synthesis for custom gene construction.
• Gibco Cell Culture Products Cell culture media, reagents, plastics, and scalable suspension culture systems for research, cell and gene therapy, and bioproduction applications.
• Olink Proximity Extension Assay (PEA) Proteomics Platform Affinity-based proteomics technology combining specificity, sensitivity, and scalability for high-throughput, multiplex protein biomarker analysis across major disease areas, backed by thousands of peer-reviewed publications.
• Ion Torrent Sequencing Platform Semiconductor-based next-generation sequencing technology for rapid, scalable DNA sequencing used across research and clinical applications.
• Thermo Scientific Selectris Cryo-EM Atomic-resolution cryo-electron microscopy technology for structural biology research and drug discovery applications.
• LABScreen Multi Assay (One Lambda) FDA-cleared diagnostic assay for simultaneous detection of HLA and HNA antibodies in a single well, used by HLA labs and transplant clinical teams for transplant matching.
• LinkSeq Real-Time PCR Molecular Antigen Typing Real-time PCR molecular antigen typing assay that predicts phenotypes for ABO, HPA-1 through HPA-11, and HPA-15, delivering blood genotyping results in 90 minutes.
• Patheon CDMO Services End-to-end contract development and manufacturing organization services for pharmaceutical and biotech customers, including API, biologics, viral vector services, cGMP plasmids, and clinical through commercial-scale manufacturing.
• PPD Clinical Research Services (CRO) Full-service and functional service clinical research organization (CRO) partnerships covering early development through peri- and post-approval studies for pharma, biotech, medical device, and government organizations.
• Unity Lab Services Laboratory service and support offering including training, equipment servicing, asset management, supply management, compliance services, maintenance, calibration, repair, and instrument service plans for scientific laboratories.
• Lab Informatics Digital Solutions Digital solutions and lab informatics software for data management, eProcurement B2B integration, and the Athena imaging data management platform for core labs.
• Training Services Training services for laboratory personnel covering instrument operation, applications, and scientific workflows across the Life Technologies product portfolio.
• Financial and Leasing Services Financial and leasing services for laboratory instruments and equipment to support customer procurement of capital scientific equipment.
• OEM and Commercial Supply OEM and commercial supply arrangements with custom products and projects for manufacturers embedding Thermo Fisher products in their own offerings.
• Filtration and Separation Solutions (Solventum-acquired) Filtration and separation technologies for bioproduction (upstream and downstream workflows), industrial filtration (ultra-pure water for battery manufacturing, semiconductor production, medical device fabrication), and membranes for OEMs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Olink Reveal Kit achieves R=0.96-0.98 reproducibility between different research groups; detects proteins at concentrations as low as fg/mL; intra-plate CVs 8.1%, inter-plate CVs 4.8%, inter-site CVs 6.3%
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SolventumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025Thermo Fisher Scientific completed acquisition of Solventum's Purification and Filtration business (Bioprocessing Filtration, Industrial Filtration, and Membranes for OEMs) in September 2025. This acquisition enhances Thermo Fisher's bioproduction offerings with advanced filtration technologies for upstream and downstream workflows, as well as industrial filtration and membrane solutions for ultra-pure water applications in battery manufacturing, semiconductor production, and medical device fabrication.
• OpenAIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThermo Fisher Scientific collaboration with OpenAI aims to accelerate clinical trials and enable the delivery of new medicines to patients sooner through AI-powered solutions.
• Project HOPEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThermo Fisher collaboration with Project HOPE helps create opportunities for Nigerian youth through health and education initiatives.
• Ronald McDonald House CharitiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThermo Fisher colleagues partner with Ronald McDonald House to support families of pediatric patients during medical treatment.
• Clean the WorldminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClean the World and Thermo Fisher volunteers support communities hard hit by natural disaster with sanitation and health resources.
• Tufts Center for the Study of Drug DevelopmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTufts Center study shows integrated drug development services could speed delivery of new therapies to patients up to 3 years faster, supporting the value proposition of Thermo Fisher's CDMO and CRO services.
• LabCentralminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCollaboration with LabCentral co-working spaces supports biotech startups and emerging companies with access to Thermo Fisher technologies and resources.
• BioLabs/Launch BiominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with biotech incubator networks provides emerging companies access to Thermo Fisher scientific solutions and support services.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Agilent Technologies: Provides analytical instruments, consumables, software, and services for life sciences, diagnostics, and applied markets. Comparable in analytical instrumentation, chromatography, and lab services segments.
• Danaher Corporation: Diversified life sciences conglomerate operating Cytiva (bioprocessing), Beckman Coulter (life sciences instruments), Pall (filtration), Leica (microscopy), and diagnostics platforms. Directly comparable to Life Technologies across bioprocessing, instruments, and consumables with similar conglomerate scale and CDMO-adjacent exposure.
• Sartorius AG: Leading bioprocessing equipment and consumables supplier (upstream and downstream) for pharma and biotech manufacturers. Comparable to Patheon CDMO inputs and the bioprocessing filtration capabilities recently expanded via Solventum acquisition.
• Bio-Rad Laboratories: Life science research and clinical diagnostics company with strong positions in PCR/qPCR, digital PCR, protein separation, and clinical diagnostics. Direct peer in instruments and reagents for research and clinical labs.
• Bio-Techne Corporation: Develops and manufactures purified proteins (R&D Systems), reagents, ELISA kits, and proteomics tools (ProteinSimple). Direct competitor in protein research reagents and proteomics instrumentation alongside Olink.
• Lonza Group AG: Global CDMO leader offering biologics, small molecules, cell and gene therapies, and mRNA manufacturing services. Most direct competitor to Patheon's CDMO platform across all major modalities.
• Merck KGaA (Life Science / MilliporeSigma): Operates the Life Science sector (MilliporeSigma, Sigma-Aldrich, BioReliance) providing bioprocessing, lab products, and CDMO services. Direct competitor in reagents, bioprocessing, and contract testing/manufacturing for pharma and biotech.
• QIAGEN N.V. Provides sample-prep technologies, PCR/qPCR, next-generation sequencing, and bioinformatics for molecular diagnostics and life science research. Direct peer in nucleic-acid-based research tools and HLA/molecular diagnostics overlap with One Lambda.

Broad incumbents

• Waters Corporation: Specializes in analytical instruments, chromatography, and mass spectrometry for life sciences and applied markets. Adjacent peer in lab instrumentation and informatics with overlapping customer base in pharma and academic research.
• Revvity (formerly PerkinElmer): Provides life sciences and diagnostics products including reagents, analytical instruments, and software. Comparable in clinical diagnostics and life sciences research tools after spinning out its applied services segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat9 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/thermofisher
• Facebookfacebook.com/thermofisher
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thermo-fisher-scientific/posts/?feedView=all
• Instagraminstagram.com/thermofisherscientific

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Life Technologies