April 1, 2024

HatchTech acquires diagnostics company NYtor

 

Dutch poultry incubation company HatchTech Group BV has acquired NYtor BV, a developer of DNA-based tests, to expand its in-house innovation capacity.

The acquisition becomes effective on March 31.

In recent years, HatchTech has built up significant expertise in developing technologies for microbiological analysis, with a focus on the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology for sorting male and female eggs during the incubation process, a process known as in-ovo sexing.

Since 2018, HatchTech's subsidiary, Respeggt, has applied in-ovo sexing commercially. The speed and extreme accuracy of the PCR technology has enabled the company to prevent the unnecessary birth and death of millions of male chicks. It has also paved the way for billions of eggs free of chick culling to be sold in supermarkets in several EU countries, HatchTech said.

HatchTech Group and NYtor have together identified significant potential for high-volume, low cost-price testing in a wide range of agricultural production systems, with a focus on poultry. The acquisition of NYtor will allow HatchTech to expand and commercialise its expertise and speed up the development of lower cost in-ovo sexing.

"Our ultimate goal is to determine sex in the egg at such a low cost that it is attractive for all types of poultry hatcheries," said Tjitze Meter, founder and chief executive officer of HatchTech. "By combining NYtor's expertise in PCR with our technical experience, we can accelerate improvements and the development of many other innovations with all sorts of applications in agriculture."

Han Zendman, CEO of NYtor, said: "The strength of HatchTech is that it respects NYtor's 'DNA' and will ensure that our existing potential lines up with their hi-tech ecosystem. That mutually beneficial combination is very appealing to us."

NYtor will continue to operate under its own name in its current offices and labs, as part of the HatchTech Group. Existing agreements with customers and partners remain unchanged.

- HatchTech