CUSTOMER ANNOUNCEMENT
Pleasanton and Santa Barbara, CA – February 11, 2011 -- Aplegen Inc., a new life sciences
company based in Pleasanton, CA, today announced the acquisition of the Santa Barbara
Instrument Group (SBIG), a leading global supplier of high quality CCD cameras and
instrumentation for the scientific community.
For over 20 years SBIG has built a track record of innovation and quality by providing highly
advanced imaging instruments to some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, including
NASA, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Mt. Palomar Observatory, and the German
Space Agency. With the introduction in 1989 of an imaging system that allowed computerized
telescope tracking, SBIG has been a major contributor to the growth of modern amateur
astronomy. SBIG also supplies instruments to the rapidly growing life sciences market.
Recognizing the important role imaging technology plays in the large global life sciences
market, the management teams of Aplegen and SBIG have agreed to combine their companies.
“Our plan is to continue to offer the highest performance imaging instruments under the SBIG
brand to the astronomy community while becoming a leading global provider of innovative
imaging systems for the life sciences market,” stated Ron Bissinger, CEO of Aplegen. He
continued, “The current leadership of SBIG will remain in place and business will continue as
usual. The acquisition will be transparent to customers, distributors, and partners.”
“I am excited to be able to lead the development of new products for the astronomy market
while expanding our technologies and products into the rapidly growing life sciences industry,”
remarked Dr. Alan Holmes, President of SBIG. Dr. Holmes and Michael Barber, both co-
founders of SBIG, will remain as executives with Aplegen.
Mr. Bissinger is the former CEO of Alpha Innotech Corp., a publicly traded life sciences
company where he drove rapid global revenue growth and increasing profitability prior to the
company’s sale in late 2009. He is also an accomplished amateur astronomer and a long time
user of SBIG products. He was an early contributor in the use of amateur telescopes and
cameras to detect planets orbiting other star systems. In 2007 Mr. Bissinger received the
Chambliss Amateur Achievement Award by the American Astronomical Society for his
contributions to astronomical research. His work has been published by CNN, Reuters, The
Economist, The New Scientist, The Christian Science Monitor, Sky & Telescope, and
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Astronomy, and he was featured in the PBS documentaries “Seeing in the Dark” and “Hunting
the Edge of Space.”
For further information, please contact:
Mr. Ron Bissinger, Chief Executive Officer, Aplegen Inc.
(800) 889-1905
Email: info@aplegen.net
Dr. Alan Holmes, President, SBIG
(805) 571-7244
Mr. Michael Barber, Vice President, SBIG
(805) 571-7244
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