Promega Corporation

Promega Corporation is a privately held life-science tools manufacturer headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin (main site: 2800 Woods Hollow Road). Founded in 1978 by William A. Linton, who remains chairman and CEO, it began by supplying restriction enzymes to molecular biologists and remains independent, unlisted on any exchange. Reported size is roughly 2,000–2,400 employees worldwide, with direct branches in about 16 countries and distributors covering roughly 100 countries. Press and third-party profiles cite revenue around $450M–$700M (BizTimes has cited $672M, and a company licensing document cited ~$350M for 2013); Promega is private and does not publish audited financials, so figures vary by source.

Products / operations. Promega develops and manufactures reagents, assays, and benchtop instruments for biotechnology and molecular biology. Major areas include nucleic acid purification and amplification (GoTaq polymerases, Plexor qPCR), bioluminescence/luciferase reporter and cell-based assays, protein analysis and expression, and genetic identity/forensics—its PowerPlex STR systems are one of two main commercial platforms for forensic DNA identification. It also sells Maxwell automated nucleic acid purification instruments and supports bioproduction and QC workflows for biologics.

Litigation posture. This is an operating company, not a non-practicing entity. The tracked data show one case, zero as plaintiff and one as defendant, which is the signature of a product company being attacked rather than a portfolio asserter. All tracked activity sits in the Northern District of California, not a plaintiff-friendly venue like the Eastern District of Texas.

Notable case. Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc. et al. v. Promega Corporation (N.D. Cal., filed 1992-10-27) began as a breach-of-contract claim after Roche acquired Cetus's PCR/Taq polymerase rights in 1991. Promega's inequitable-conduct defense produced findings, largely affirmed by the Federal Circuit in 2003 (323 F.3d 1354), that Cetus/Roche misrepresented experiments, rendering the Taq patent unenforceable. Promega later litigated Taq-related technology up to Life Technologies Corp. v. Promega Corp. (U.S. 2017), which is outside this dataset.