Diatech buys SensoQuest & launches Labcycler cycler

Diatech Pharmacogenetics has acquired SensoQuest and launched the Labcycler PCR thermal cycler, taking the Italian diagnostics company into laboratory instrumentation.

Originally developed by SensoQuest in Germany, Labcycler is now being manufactured at Diatech's facility in Jesi, Italy. Diatech had already used and evaluated the product in its molecular diagnostics work before taking over its manufacturing and development.

The acquisition expands Diatech's business beyond reagents and diagnostic kits into laboratory equipment for nucleic acid amplification, a core step in molecular testing workflows across oncology, forensics, veterinary testing, plant science and environmental analysis.

The thermal cycler is designed for routine laboratory work, with a focus on reproducibility, accuracy and ease of use. It uses an electroformed, gold-plated silver block rather than the aluminium blocks commonly found in comparable systems.

This design enables the instrument to reach target temperatures faster while maintaining control accuracy of ±0.01 °C and uniform temperature across the block. It also includes a temperature gradient function for primer annealing optimisation and assay development.

Instrument design

The system is available with interchangeable thermal blocks in two formats: a 96-well block for 0.2 ml tubes, strips and plates, and a 384-well block for higher-throughput work. Each block has its own processor, gradient function and independently controlled Peltier elements to maintain even temperature during rapid heating and cooling.

A quick-change mechanism allows laboratory staff to switch blocks in seconds, adapting the instrument to different workflows and throughput needs. The user interface includes a colour touchscreen with a graphical protocol display for creating and editing protocols, monitoring runs in real time and managing training requirements.

Password protection can be set for groups, users, folders and individual programmes. The instrument is designed for up to 600,000 cycles, which Diatech equates to about 20 years of use.

Strategic move

The deal reflects a wider effort by diagnostic suppliers to offer laboratories more complete product ranges as customers look to reduce the number of vendors across testing workflows. For Diatech, which has a commercial presence in more than 50 countries, the acquisition provides an entry point into a hardware market alongside its existing molecular diagnostics business.

Fabio Biondi, President of Diatech Pharmacogenetics, described the move as a step towards a broader laboratory offering.

"With the acquisition of SensoQuest and the launch of Labcycler, Diatech is taking a strategic step from reagents and diagnostic kits to complete solutions for the molecular laboratory," said Fabio Biondi, President of Diatech Pharmacogenetics.

"What convinced us was the quality of the German engineering, to which Diatech now adds Italian manufacturing and the know-how we have built over the years. Together, these features create a powerful combination grounded in expertise. Precision, reliability and ease of use are what laboratories ask us for every day, and Labcycler delivers them all in a platform built to last," said Biondi.