Techne Corporation Announces New Trade Name, Bio-Techne

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH) announced today that it will be operating under the new trade name, Bio-Techne. The use of Bio-Techne will bring the company's R&D Systems, BiosPacific, Tocris Biosciences, Boston Biochem and Bionostics products under one common brand name.   

"We are excited about our new trade name.  The name solidifies the new strategic direction for the company along with unifying and positioning all of our brands under one complete portfolio," said Chuck Kummeth, President and CEO.

Along with this change, Bio-Techne has introduced a new investor website, "bio-techne.com".  The new trade name will be introduced to customers in the coming months with a new corporate identity, as well as a new unified website. 

The company's major brand names will be maintained, though they will be aligned to create new divisions, allowing the company to focus more directly on the needs of customers in life science research and clinical controls markets.  Through the realignment, all of the company's subsidiaries and brands will remain in place and its stock will continue to trade under the TECH ticker symbol.

"These new alignments give focus to the entire organization and allow us to leverage our resources and capabilities to create solutions that will deepen our relationships with our customers and allow us to become even better strategic partners," said Gerry Andros, VP of Sales and Marketing.

"Bio-Techne brings together some of the most trusted brand names in key markets.  The Bio-Techne name will represent what we all have in common: commitment to the science and technology underpinning our products, controlling our quality to ensure a high degree of reliability, and sharing our expertise to further the goals of our customers," said Chuck Kummeth.

About Techne Corporation

Techne Corporation and Subsidiaries (the Company) are engaged in the development, manufacture and sale of biotechnology products and clinical calibrators and controls. These activities are conducted through the Company's two operating subsidiaries: Research and Diagnostic Systems, Inc. (R&D Systems) of Minneapolis, Minnesota and R&D Systems Europe, Ltd. (R&D Europe) of Abingdon, England.

R&D Systems is a specialty manufacturer of biological products. R&D Systems has four subsidiaries: BiosPacific, Inc., located in Emeryville, California, Boston Biochem, Inc., located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Bionostics, operating in Devens, Massachusetts, and R&D Systems China Co. Ltd., located in Shanghai, China. BiosPacific is a worldwide supplier of biologics to manufacturers of in vitro diagnostic systems and immunodiagnostic kits. Boston Biochem is a leading developer and manufacturer of ubiquitin-related research products.  Bionostics is a leading supplier of control solutions used in point of care blood glucose and blood gas testing.

R&D China and R&D Europe distribute the Company's biotechnology products. R&D Europe has two subsidiaries: Tocris Holdings Ltd. (Tocris) of Bristol, England and R&D Systems GmbH, a German sales operation. Tocris is a leading supplier of chemical reagents for non-clinical life science research.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements found in this release may constitute forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements reflect the speaker's current views with respect to future events and financial performance and include any statement that does not directly relate to a current or historical fact. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate" or "intend" or similar words.  The following important factors, among others, have affected and, in the future, could affect the Company's actual results: the effect of new branding and marketing initiatives, the integration of new leadership, the introduction and acceptance of new biotechnology and hematology products, the levels and particular directions of research by the Company's customers, the impact of the growing number of producers of biotechnology research products and related price competition, general economic conditions, the impact of currency exchange rate fluctuations, and the costs and results of research and product development efforts of the Company and of companies in which the Company has invested or with which it has formed strategic relationships.

For additional information concerning such factors, see the section titled "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements we make in our press releases due to new information or future events. Investors are cautioned not to place undue emphasis on these statements.

SOURCE Techne Corporation