Bio-Rad's having a great year, thanks to its presence in the fast-growing life sciences business of protein analysis, and its surprise success with a test for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Founder and CEO David Schwartz built the business based on a mix of eclectic product lines into an $800 million force in life sciences and clinical diagnostics. But as he nears 80, the company is grappling with succession issues, as well as a sense that it needs to better integrate its disparate businesses.

DPC has successfully transformed itself from a reagent to a systems company and carved out a niche in immunoassay systems, but has it gone as far as it can on its own in a consolidating industry that favors breadth of product lines across lab segments?