Bio Screening Industry News

Lacey, WA – Researchers utilizing one of the world’s largest ethnomedicinal plant libraries recently developed two highly potent flavonoid formulas which convey topical anti-inflammatory effects.  The botanicals, a catechin derived from the catechu tree and baicalin extracted from Chinese skullcap, were combined in two different formula ratios and then evaluated for anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.  The findings¹ were shared at the annual meeting of The Society for Investigative Dermatology in May.

The formulas are the final result of screening through the PhytoLogix™ library at UNIGEN® USA, a leading natural products research and development company and proprietary ingredients supplier.  Utilizing PhytoLogix, researchers screened over 1,230 organic plant extracts for potential COX-2 inhibition.  The final catechin and baicalin formulas, UP566S and UP566U, demonstrated significant COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitory effects.  In an in vitro test using human cells, UP566U was far more effective than Ibuprofen in acting as a LOX (5-lipoxygenase) pathway inhibitor.

“These two compounds offer multiple anti-inflammatory properties.  They are a completely natural and safe approach to dealing with topical inflammation,” commented Dr. Qi Jia, Chief Scientific Officer at UNIGEN.  Dr. Jia explained that the
compounds demonstrated an ability to suppress the gene expression of key pro-inflammatory cytokines, and UP566S also showed antioxidant activity almost four times more powerful than vitamin C, based on ORAC test results.  In a human trial, both topicals also tested negative for any skin irritation or photosensitivity.

The Company’s President and CEO, Regan Miles, was impressed with the speed at which the team was able to develop their ideas.  “They created the formulas rather rapidly due to the comprehensive data available through PhytoLogix,” said Miles.  “We can access not only the chemical structure of a certain botanical, but also information about all of the plant’s traditional health uses too.  We’re seeing this research build on itself exponentially every day.” 

About Unigen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
www.unigenUSA.com – Unigen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a leading natural products research and development company and proprietary ingredients supplier.  The Company is dedicated to the discovery of botanically derived therapeutic compounds that address consumer health needs and help improve quality of life.

Their research and discovery includes extensive work at both the human cell and gene level.  Unigen focuses on identifying and studying the unique ingredients of medicinal botanicals and then formulating proprietary raw materials for use in cosmeceutical, nutraceutical, functional food and pharmaceutical products.

Unigen’s global offices include 80 employees, 55 of whom are scientists.  Contributing to their vast library of novel botanical ingredients, the current facilities include high-throughput screening and cell culture labs, bioprospecting labs and a large-scale manufacturing facility.  Unigen is part of the ECONET global family of health and natural product companies, which has operations in the United States, Canada, Korea, Mexico, Russia and China.

The Biomanufacturing Summit, North America brings together the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies to network, learn and conduct business.  Key conference topics include: PAT in biologics, overcoming downstream bottlenecks, continuous chromatography, using disposables and overcoming the challenges in purifying MABs.  Don’t miss the opportunity to be a part of this influential and informative meeting.

For more information, visit www.biomanufacturingsummit.com or call 1 416 214 340

-Acquisition of Pacific Pharma Technologies Brings Proprietary Artificial Intelligence-Based Drug Discovery Platform and Novel Drug Candidates to Upstream–Initial Compounds Demonstrate Promising In Vitro Activity Against Devastating Parasitic Diseases Affecting 300 Million People Worldwide-

VANCOUVER, B.C., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Upstream Biosciences Inc. today announced it has completed the acquisition of Pacific Pharma Technologies Inc., an early stage biopharmaceutical company with a proprietary technology platform that combines artificial intelligence, advanced computational methods and chemical diversity techniques to discover new drugs. This technology has already generated novel compounds that in laboratory studies demonstrate both human and veterinary potential against major tropical parasitic diseases.

“This acquisition significantly broadens our strategic focus and provides Upstream with important new capabilities,” said Joel L. Bellenson, Chief Executive Officer of Upstream. “We believe the innovative technology platform pioneered by Pacific Pharma may have substantial commercial potential in a number of therapeutic areas and it fits well with our existing core competencies in computational-based approaches to biomarker identification. Pacific Pharma has also generated novel compounds that have exhibited activity against targets relevant to cancer, the focus of our biomarker programs.”

In screening studies in vitro, Pacific Pharma’s lead compounds have demonstrated encouraging signs of efficacy against leishmaniasis and African sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis). These parasites, which belong to a family of protozoa species that include Chagas disease and malaria, infect millions of individuals in Africa, South Asia and South America. Current treatments are often toxic, ineffective, inconvenient and expensive. In addition, recent reports document the spread of leishmaniasis to U.S. troops and contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. Upstream also intends to begin screening compounds against malaria shortly and to test compounds from related classes as potential therapies for tuberculosis. The millions of individuals affected by these two diseases are increasingly infected with multiple drug resistant strains, highlighting the need for new therapies.

Mr. Bellenson continued, “These parasitic diseases take an enormous personal, social and economic toll on communities in the developing world, affecting millions of individuals and also decimating the cattle herds that are an integral part of rural economies. We believe the growing interest in addressing global health issues makes this an ideal time to pursue new drugs for these devastating conditions, and we intend to work collaboratively with a variety of public and private organizations to ensure the timely and cost effective clinical development of drug candidates generated by our new technology platform. We also expect to pursue other therapeutic applications of this potentially powerful drug discovery technology going forward.”

Pacific Pharma’s proprietary technology platform takes existing compounds that have demonstrated efficacy against the target disease and uses artificial intelligence, computer simulation and pattern recognition techniques to identify key structural elements associated with their efficacy. Screening analyses and diversity generation chemistry are then applied to produce an array of potential drug candidates. The technology can also be used to identify novel applications for existing drugs. It was developed by Artem Cherkasov, Ph.D., a faculty member in the Department of Infectious Diseases in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. At the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston last week, Dr. Cherkasov gave a scientific presentation describing how this technology may be effective for the rapid identification of drugs that can be used to fight antibiotic- resistant “super-bug” pathogens or emerging new infectious agents.

“This technology is particularly applicable to these difficult-to-treat protozoan diseases because it does not require knowing the disease target a priori,” noted Professor Cherkasov. “By combining state-of-the-art computational approaches with advanced chemistries, we have already demonstrated that we can successfully produce novel compounds with good drug- like properties and the potential for enhanced efficacy and reduced toxicity. I look forward to working with Upstream to advance these promising new drugs into clinical development, as well as to exploring other drug discovery applications of the technology platform.”

Professor Cherkasov is an expert in computer-aided drug design, in applications of artificial intelligence to structure-activity modeling for bioactive substances and in the development of large-scale bioinformatics and genomics tools and molecular modeling techniques. He is a member of Upstream’s Scientific Advisory Board.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 300 million people are infected globally by these parasitic diseases, which are responsible for an estimated 2.8 million deaths annually and cause great suffering and economic hardship to millions more. In addition, the combination of global warming and increased migration is beginning to bring these diseases to the developed world. For example, the American Red Cross recently reported that in 2006 it detected blood-borne Chagas pathogens in 1 in every 3,800 blood donors in Los Angeles.

Terms of the acquisition include upfront and milestone payments. Further details were not disclosed.

About Leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis is a severe, geographically widespread parasitic disease caused by a protozoan flagellate and spread by the bite of infected sand flies. There are several different forms of leishmaniasis— cutaneous and visceral. The cutaneous type causes skin sores, while the visceral type affects internal organs such as the spleen, liver and bone marrow. Leshmaniasis is increasing in incidence with an estimated two million cases per year, and 350 million people in 88 countries are estimated to be at risk. More than 90% of the world’s cases of visceral leishmaniasis are in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan, and Brazil. Leishmaniasis is also found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. Visceral leishmaniasis can be lethal if untreated.

About African Sleeping Sickness (Trypanosomiasis). Sleeping sickness is a parasitic disease in people and animals caused by protozoa of the Trypanosomiasis genus and transmitted by the tsetse fly. The disease is endemic in regions of sub-Saharan Africa covering 36 countries and 60 million people. There are an estimated 300,000 new cases each year. Early symptoms include anemia, endocrine, cardiac, and kidney disorders. The symptoms of the second neurological phase give the disease its name; besides confusion and reduced coordination, the sleep cycle is profoundly disturbed. Without treatment, the disease is fatal, with progressive mental deterioration leading to coma and death. Damage caused in the neurological phase can be irreversible. Available treatments are toxic and require lengthy intravenous infusion and hospitalization. Trypanosomiasis also is a major source of serious illness in cattle and other livestock, which is estimated to cost the economies of sub-Saharan Africa about $4.5 billion annually from lost farm income and increased malnutrition.

About Chagas Disease. Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which is transmitted to animals and people by triatomine insects. It is estimated that as many as 8-11 million people in Mexico and Central and South America are infected. If untreated, infection is lifelong and can be life threatening. Cardiac complications can include an enlarged heart, heart failure, altered heart rate and cardiac arrest, and intestinal complications include an enlarged esophagus or colon. The average lifetime risk of Chagas-infected individuals developing these complications is about 30%. Anti-parasitic medications are usually only effective when given during the acute stage. They can be very toxic, and resistance has already been reported. In the chronic stage of Chagas disease, treatment is limited to managing the clinical manifestations. The scale of the problem is highlighted by the fact that chronic heart disease caused by Chagas is now a major reason for heart transplantation surgery in South America.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains “forward-looking statements”, as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among others, the expectation and/or claim, as applicable, that: (i) Pacific Pharma’s technologies may have potential applications against major tropical parasitic diseases; (ii) Pacific Pharma’s technologies may have substantial commercial potential and such technologies fit well with the Company’s core competencies in computational-based approaches to biomarker identification; (iii) the Company intends to begin screening compounds against malaria and to test compounds from related classes as potential therapies for tuberculosis; (iv) the Company intends to work with a variety of public and private organizations to ensure timely and cost-effective clinical development of drug candidates generated by its technologies; (v) the Company expects to pursue other therapeutic applications of the technology going forward; (vi) potential drug candidates may be produced following application of screening analysis and diversity generation chemistry; (vii) technology can be used to identify novel applications for existing drugs; (viii) technology may be effective for the rapid identification of drugs that can be used to fight antibiotic resistant super-bug pathogens or emerging new infectious agents; and (ix) the Company may advance new compounds into clinical development and explore other drug discovery applications of the technology platform. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others: (i) the risk that the Company does not execute its business plan; (ii) the inability of the Company to keep pace with technological advancements in the field of genetic diagnostics; (iii) the Company’s inability to adequately protect its intellectual property or the Company’s inadvertent infringement of third party intellectual property; (iv) the Company not being able to retain key employees; (v) competitors providing better or cheaper products and technologies; (vi) markets for the Company’s products not developing as expected; (vii) the Company’s inability to finance its operations or growth; (viii) inability to obtain all necessary government and regulatory approvals; and (ix) the inability to effectively market and commercialize the Company’s technologies, including the establishment of viable relationships with third parties. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance those beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consider all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosed in the Company’s periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov.

Novel viral delivery method saves significant time and costs with a ready-to-go process for whole-kinome screens.

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Sigma-Aldrich is pleased to introduce the LentiExpress shRNA-based system (http://www.sigma.com/lentiexpress) for rapid high-throughput RNAi screening with minimal reagent preparation or optimization required. The addition of this technology to the MISSION(R) shRNA platform pairs the benefits of lentiviral-based shRNA with a simple streamlined protocol.

The bottleneck for researchers is the time and expense required to generate viral particles and devise a robust screening strategy. With the MISSION LentiExpress technology, they can eliminate reagent preparation with a sophisticated yet simple method to perform complex screens. An Optimization Plate enables researchers to quickly optimize the system for their particular cell line. This optimization process is uniquely simple compared to cumbersome transfection optimization methods that exist for siRNA-based screens. A researcher simply adds the desired number of cells to each well, continues with optional selection and/or addition of small molecules (for example, pharmaceutical compounds), and then proceeds directly to the desired assay for gene silencing or loss-of-function.

The LentiExpress format with the Human Kinase shRNA collection of The RNAi Consortium (TRC) enables rapid human kinome RNAi screening. The MISSION LentiExpress Human Kinase shRNA set consists of 3,109 individual pre-arrayed lentiviral clones harboring shRNA sequences that target 673 human kinase genes for gene silencing.

“Because we created the product to be ready-to-go single-use assays, researchers now have access to a fast and affordable means to utilize RNAi in whole-kinome screens. Lentiviral-based shRNA is also known for the benefit of being able to deliver RNAi effector molecules to a wide variety of cells including primary and non-transfectable cells lines,” said Dr. Edward Weinstein, Manager of Functional Genomics Operations at Sigma-Aldrich. “Another benefit is stable long-term knockdown compared to transient transfection based siRNA options.”

“Sigma-Aldrich researchers have performed proof-of-principle LentiExpress screens examining which genes might play a role in the modulation of a well-known cancer chemotherapy drug,” said Dr. David Smoller, President of the Sigma-Aldrich Research Biotech business unit. “The screen resulted in hits already validated by the literature as well as additional hits that could be further investigated as prognostic markers for susceptibility to treatment. Both internal and external validations of the methodology have proven the utility of this exciting technology.”

The LentiExpress technology complements the already robust MISSION shRNA product line which includes libraries, gene family sets, and gene target sets for The RNAi Consortium lentiviral-based shRNA collection targeting the human and mouse genomes. The product portfolio includes a viral packaging system, a variety of controls, as well as the unique ability to offer any or all of the collection in a choice of glycerol stock, purified DNA or viral particle format. Sigma-Aldrich’s complete RNAi platform also includes the MISSION siRNA libraries, mRNA detection reagents, antibodies and AQUA peptides for protein level detection as well as an entire workflow of supporting reagents (cell culture, cell biology compounds and assays, transfection reagents, and much more). For more information, visit http://www.sigma.com/lentiexpress.

About Sigma-Aldrich: Sigma-Aldrich is a leading Life Science and High Technology company. Its biochemical and organic chemical products and kits are used in scientific and genomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, the diagnosis of disease and as key components in pharmaceutical and other high technology manufacturing. Sigma-Aldrich has customers in Life Science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals, and in industry. Over one million scientists and technologists use its products. Sigma-Aldrich operates in 36 countries and has 7,700 employees providing excellent service worldwide. Sigma-Aldrich is committed to Accelerating Customer Success through Leadership in Life Science, High Technology and Service. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its award-winning Web site at http://www.sigma-aldrich.com.

About TRC: TRC is comprised of principal investigators from world-class academic research institutions (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Medical School, the Broad Institute, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Washington University, Columbia University, and Academia Sinica) as well as corporate sponsoring institutions (Sigma-Aldrich, Novartis, Eli Lilly, and Bristol-Myers Squibb). As a scientific collaborator and distribution partner through agreement with MIT, Sigma-Aldrich is working with TRC to provide the scientific community with RNAi tools for functional genomics research specifically for gene function discovery and the study of disease. The MISSION TRC shRNA clone libraries comprise a comprehensive collection of over 150,000 pre-cloned lentiviral-based shRNA vector constructs targeting more than 15,000 human genes (MISSION TRC-Hs1.0) and 15,000 mouse genes (MISSION TRC-Mm1.0). Design and development of the TRC libraries is being led by the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard. For more information about MISSION shRNA clone collections, please visit us online at http://www.sigma.com/shrna.

Cautionary Statement: This release contains forward-looking statements relating to future performance, goals, strategic actions and initiatives and similar intentions and beliefs and other statements regarding the Companies’ expectations, goals, beliefs, intentions and the like, which involve assumptions regarding the Companies’ operations and conditions in the markets the Companies serve. The Companies do not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Nereus Pharmaceuticals Raises $45 Million in Private Placement

A Sorrento Valley company in the habit of selling screening services to big pharmaceutical concerns interested in seeing how various compounds react to select proteins has just announced a bigger, better screening technology.

Ambit Biosciences Chief Executive Officer Scott Salka said this month that its KinomeScan Profiling Technology can now scan for an additional 36 kinases, which are used to target a wide range of diseases, including cancer, as well as metabolic and neurological disorders and inflammation.

“At an ever-accelerating pace, scientists are establishing new links between kinases and disease,” Salka said in a prepared statement. “Our KinomeScan family of services helps our collaboration partners and customers see the full picture surrounding their kinase inhibitor development programs, ensuring that they select the best possible drug candidates to advance into human trials.”

With the additional 36, the Kinome-Scan Profiling Technology now can scan for 353 kinases. Costs were not disclosed.

Ambit Biosciences is a privately held company that, in addition to its screening services related to kinases, focuses on the development of drugs for the treatment of cancer.

Ambit, which made a reported $4.7 million in 2005, was No. 3 on the San Diego Business Journal’s 2006 list of the fastest-growing private companies, with an 817 percent growth rate since 2003.

Published reports since have suggested that the company’s annual revenue may be more than $9 million. Ambit employs 70 people.

Money Watch: Sorrento Valley-based Nereus Pharmaceuticals Inc. has raised $45 million from the private placement of special preferred stock.

Nereus, which uses marine microbial in the discovery and development of cancer therapeutics, made the announcement Aug. 9.

The local company also named two new members to its board of directors. They are Jesper Zeuthen, lead investor of BankInvest Biomedical Venture of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Erich Platzer, an investment advisor with HBM Partners.

The money raised will be used to complete Phase I and begin Phase II clinical trials for Nereus’ two drug candidates: NPI-2358 for the treatment of solid tumors and lymphomas and NPI-0052 for multiple myeloma, lymphomas and solid tumors.

Laurel, MD and Saskatoon, SK, Canada, August 6, 2007 – BioServe and Phenomenome Discoveries Inc. (“PDI”) today announced that they have developed a novel serum-based diagnostic test for the identification of colorectal cancer (CRC), and pre-cancerous states conducive to the development of CRC. Colorectal cancer comprises a tenth of the global cancer burden, and is the third most common malignancy in the world. According to the National Cancer Institute, in the United States during 2007 there were an estimated 153,760 new cases of colorectal cancer and 52,180 deaths from the disease.

The new colorectal cancer diagnostic test is currently available in Canada and Japan. Both companies anticipate that the test will be available for distribution in the United States in Q4 2007. The test is also currently available for use by researchers worldwide as a fee-for-service research tool that allows research-use-only applications. Further plans for broad commercialization to physicians and patients are underway.

In developing the test, BioServe identified a large number of patient tissue and serum samples from its Global Repository® exhibiting CRC across a spectrum of stages, as well as matched healthy controls. Using PDI’s patented non-targeted metabolomics platform, PDI discovered that a series of novel metabolites were significantly decreased in serum samples collected from colorectal cancer patients compared to controls. From these results, PDI developed a two minute high-throughput screening method capable of simultaneously measuring a key subset of these molecules. BioServe provided a second independent population of 189 CRC samples and 287 controls, and the rapid test was found to be 78% sensitive and 90% specific in this validation sample set.

The test has now been validated in four independent studies, across which the sensitivity of detection for colorectal cancer positive cases averaged 75%, and the specificity averaged 90%. Trials are planned for late 2007 in Canada and Japan, in which healthcare authorities will evaluate the test’s utility as part of a broad-based population screening regimen.

“Early detection is the single most important factor in improving patient survival. The availability of a simple, serum-based, pre-colonoscopy screening test for CRC will have a positive impact on the low compliance rate of colonoscopy as a screening tool and enable healthcare providers to make more efficient use of the colonoscopy in the management of CRC,” said John Hyshka, Chief Operating Officer of PDI. “BioServe’s clinical colorectal cancer data and control samples from its vast Global Repository of over 600,000 human DNA, tissue and serum samples were critical to accelerating our research in colon cancer and developing this breakthrough diagnostic test. Based on our success in CRC, we have expanded our collaboration with BioServe to identify serum biomarkers for other forms of cancer as well as multiple sclerosis.”

“The development of this new and novel diagnostic test for colorectal cancer showcases how BioServe successfully collaborates with partners to gain insights to disease at the deep molecular level to advance the science of personalized and predictive medicine,” said Kevin Krenitsky, Chief Executive Officer, BioServe. “PDI is at the forefront of molecular biomarker research and discovery, and we look forward to the discovery of similar biomarkers in other diseases as a result of our expanded collaboration with PDI and to the development of more ‘wellness’ enhancing diagnostics.”

TAMPA, FL — Spellex Corporation announces the new release of the 2007 version of their popular bioscience spelling software for Microsoft and other programs. The new release includes more than 200,000 specialty words from the bioscience industry and new spelling engine enhancements.

Benefits:   The Spellex Biotech spelling dictionary allows users to save time and increase their accuracy. By adding Spellex Biotech to your Microsoft or WordPerfect program, your spell checker will provide correct spelling choices for incorrectly spelled bioscience terminology.  The spell checker also allows users to look up unsure spelling of bioscience words by phonetic or typographical search without leaving their document. The regular Microsoft or WordPerfect spelling dictionary and the Spellex dictionary are spell checked simultaneously with one mouse click.

Spellex Corporation has added more than 20 Customer-Driven enhancements to their Spellex Biotech 2007 spell check program, including upgrades and updates to the biotech dictionary, spelling engine, registration program, and installation program.

Features:  Spellex Biotech is a comprehensive spelling dictionary reference that adds more than 200,000 bioscience terms to the user’s spell checker for specialties ranging from Agronomy to Zygote research.  Spellex Biotech covers more than 70 different bioscience fields including agronomy, biochemistry, bioinformatics, biomedical engineering, biophysics, ecology, molecular and genetic biology, microbiology, organic chemistry, taxonomy, toxicology, and pharmacology, to name only a few.  Spellex Biotech includes thousands of abbreviations and acronyms encompassing scientific product names and devices, as well as medically and biotechnologically relevant organisms.

Users can also correctly spell newly introduced bioscience terminology by subscribing to the Spell-X-BioPlus^TM software subscription service.  This quarterly software subscription service updates the Spellex dictionaries with new biotechnology terms, new pharmaceutical terms, and more. 

Spellex dictionaries are compatible with Microsoft, most Windows programs, developer tools, custom applications, Web browsers, and are available in US English or UK English.

To request product information or to place an order, contact Spellex Corporation at 800-442-WORD (9673) or 813-792-7000.  You can also visit www.spellex.com/products/biotech.htm.

Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, announces the launch of the ultra-sensitive TSQ Quantum(TM) GC gas chromatograph triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Developed for use in environmental, food, toxicology, pharmaceutical and clinical research laboratories, the system allows industry leading levels of sensitivity, selectivity and simultaneous quantification and structural confirmation through its innovative scan function, Quantitation-Enhanced Data-Dependent MS/MS (QED-MS/MS), at the lowest limits of quantitation. The system offers the ability to switch between GC and LC modes, offering an extremely flexible system. This system will be displayed at the downtown Marriott Ballroom 5, June 3-7, 2007 from 7:00-10:00 PM during the 55th Annual ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Thermo Scientific TSQ Quantum GC is the most sensitive and versatile GC triple quadrupole mass spectrometer instrument available on the market. The GC-MS/MS extends the TSQ Quantum portfolio, achieving higher sensitivity and lower detection limits making it ideally suited for regulated environments. The TSQ Quantum GC delivers high sensitivity with Highly Selective Reaction Monitoring (H-SRM) and lowest limits of quantitation. The H-SRM capability allows the quantitation of hundreds of compounds in a single run for multi-residue screening, while the zero cross-talk collision cell helps in the elimination of false positives.

The system consists of a TSQ Quantum triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, TRACE GC Ultra(TM) and TriPlus autosampler, and is configured with Thermo Scientific Xcalibur(TM) software. Xcalibur is the most powerful and robust data system available, delivering a unique combination of functionality, system control and ease of use. It also contains a built-in audit trail to ensure compliance with laboratory SOPs and quality programs.

In addition, the TSQ Quantum GC includes application-specific software such as Thermo Scientific LCQUAN software, designed to offer scientists workflow-oriented approaches to GC-MS/MS analyses.

The TSQ Quantum GC completes the company’s GC/MS product line by offering a new level of selectivity and performance between the PolarisQ(TM) ion trap GC/MS and the DFS High Resolution Magnetic sector GC/MS.

For more information on the Thermo Scientific TSQ Quantum GC, please call 1-800-532-4752, e-mail analyze@thermofisher.com or visit www.thermo.com/ms.

Thermo Scientific is part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) is the world leader in serving science, enabling our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. With an annual revenue rate of more than $9 billion, we employ 30,000 people and serve over 350,000 customers within pharmaceutical and biotech companies, hospitals and clinical diagnostic labs, universities, research institutions and government agencies, as well as environmental and industrial process control settings. Serving customers through two premier brands, Thermo Scientific and Fisher Scientific, we help solve analytical challenges from routine testing to complex research and discovery. Thermo Scientific offers customers a complete range of high-end analytical instruments as well as laboratory equipment, software, services, consumables and reagents to enable integrated laboratory workflow solutions. Fisher Scientific provides a complete portfolio of laboratory equipment, chemicals, supplies and services used in healthcare, scientific research, safety and education. Together, we offer the most convenient purchasing options to customers and continuously advance our technologies to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery, enhance value for customers and fuel growth for shareholders and employees alike. Visit www.thermofisher.com.

Science Daily — After years of frustration with traditional methods for testing the toxicity of chemicals in the environment, scientists are working to adapt faster, simpler screening methods that do not require animals, now used by the pharmaceutical industry to identify potential drug candidates, according to an article scheduled for the August 6 issue of Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN).

The article, written by C&EN Senior Editor Celia Henry Arnaud, explains that animal testing long has been the gold standard for environmental toxicology. But such tests take years to complete, can’t always be confidently extrapolated to humans, and require the use of laboratory animals. As a result, only a handful of commercial chemicals have gone through the complete battery of tests used by the Federal Government’s National Toxicology Program in its most thorough toxicology investigations.

Arnaud explains how environmental toxicologists are eyeing an attractive alternative — the so-called high-throughput screening methods that pharmaceutical companies use to find potential drug candidates within libraries of compounds. “If successful, such assays may in the short term reduce the animal toxicity tests that are necessary and in the long term replace animal tests entirely,” the article states. It points out, however, that formidable challenges lie ahead in adapting those tests for accurately predicting which commercial chemicals are potential human health threats.

Article: “Toward Toxicity Testing Without Animals: High-throughput methods from pharma could reduce need for animals when assessing toxicity of chemicals in the environment”

HOPKINTON, Mass., Aug. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Caliper Life Sciences, Inc. today launched the Caliper LabChip(R) EZ Reader(TM) Series, delivering a complete range of products for in-house kinase profiling. The series, which complements the existing LabChip 3000 system, Caliper’s most sophisticated system for drug discovery, includes the new EZ Reader II system, a bench-top reader to use for real-time kinetic analysis with push-button operation, and the EZ Reader system, formerly the DeskTop Profiler(TM) system. Each product in the EZ Reader Series utilizes Caliper’s LabChip microfluidic-based screening technology to yield high-quality, reproducible data to help pharmaceutical researchers more confidently qualify potential lead candidates.

The EZ Reader Series features innovative systems that rapidly profile compounds against a diverse kinase panel in a timely and cost-effective manner. The Series complements Caliper’s existing offerings for kinase profiling. The EZ Reader system features a four-sipper Caliper LabChip microfluidic device, while the EZ Reader II system provides a choice of either a 4-sipper or a 12-sipper LabChip device to run assays with up to three times higher throughput. The EZ Reader II system also enables real time kinetic analysis, allowing researchers to study enzyme behavior over time in mechanism-of-action (MOA) studies. Its compact, bench-top size and push-button operation delivers a high level of functionality without a large footprint or the need for highly skilled operators. Caliper’s ProfilerPro(TM) kinase reagent profiling kit, which allows broad range, rapid kinase profiling in-house, accompanies each system.

“The EZ Reader II system extends the benefits of Caliper’s LabChip technology to academic laboratories, small biotech companies and distributed therapeutic groups,” said Rick Bunch, Business Unit Manager, LabChip Systems, Caliper Life Sciences. “Its inclusion in the EZ Reader series demonstrates Caliper’s commitment to delivering technology and services that fulfill a broad range of customer needs.”

The EZ Reader II system is currently on display at the Drug Discovery & Development of Innovative Therapeutics (DDT) conference in Boston. For additional information, please visit Caliper Life Sciences at booth 628.

About Caliper Life Sciences

Caliper Life Sciences is a leading provider of cutting-edge technologies enabling researchers in the life sciences to create life-saving and enhancing medicines and diagnostic tests more quickly and efficiently. Caliper is aggressively innovating new technology to bridge the gap between in vitro assays and in vivo results and then translate those results into cures for human disease. Caliper’s portfolio of offerings includes state-of-the-art microfluidics, lab automation & liquid handling, optical imaging technologies, and discovery & development outsourcing solutions. For more information please visit http://www.caliperLS.com.

Caliper, LabChip, DeskTop Profiler, ProfilerPro and EZ Reader are trademarks of Caliper Life Sciences, Inc.