ANN ARBOR, MI and KALAMAZOO, MI, July 31, 2007– Global Lifescience Solutions, an NSF International Company offering contract research services to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, today announced a new partnership with the Michigan High Throughput Screening Center (MHTSC).

MHTSC is a not-for-profit, contract research laboratory that provides assay development and state-of-the-art high throughput screening (HTS) services without licensing fees or royalties.  Through the new partnership, pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies can now take advantage of HTS screening offered by MHTSC and high content screening offered by GLS – capabilities that are critical in drug development and research.

“As more and more drug companies outsource their research and testing, our goal is to provide solutions that will expedite the drug development process,” said Aline Lindbeck, Ph.D., general manager, Global Lifescience Solutions.  “Our life-science organizations and state-of-the-art laboratories will position the State of Michigan as a leader in scientific research and high-tech screening services.”

Together, GLS and MHTSC will assist companies in identifying potential leads for drug discovery.  GLS’ high content screening services provide preliminary toxicity data on drug candidates as well as additional information on the mechanisms by which drug candidates may elicit their cellular response.

Companies that will benefit from the new collaboration include public research institutions, government institutions, and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies that conduct drug discovery work, as well as companies who do not have in-house high content or high throughput screening capabilities.

“Our mission at MHTSC is to provide access to state of the art screening technology and expertise,” said Rob Kilkuskie, Ph.D., senior director, Michigan High Throughput Screening Center.  “Our collaboration with GLS allows us to expand the characterization of the compounds coming out of our screens.  We believe this will greatly facilitate our clients’ drug discovery research.”

New service offerings under the partnership include:
Prescreening services – help companies cost effectively determine which targets should be fully screened Assay development – assay design and optimization Follow-up services – assist companies with follow-up screening and lead optimization High content screening – help companies examine multiple cellular targets and parameters in a large number of individually imaged cells and quantitatively assess the data

“The collaboration between GLS and MHTSC leverages the expertise and technology at each institution, and provides our clients an expanded array of screening services,” said Kathy Johnson, director of business development, MHTSC.

For more information on this partnership and new service offerings, please contact James Wallin, GLS at jwallin@nsf.org or 734-827-5630, or Kathy Johnson, MHTSC at kjohnson@kvcc.edu or 269-353-1560.

About Michigan High Throughput Screening Center: Michigan High Throughput Screening Center (MHTSC) at Kalamazoo Valley Community College is a not-for-profit company that provides state-of-the-art High Throughput Screening (HTS) technology to public research institutions, biotechnology companies, and large pharmaceutical corporations (http://mhtsc.kvcc.edu).  MHTSC identifies potential leads for drug discovery and develops chemical research tools to explore biochemical and metabolic pathways. MHTSC is a contract research laboratory, working on a fee for service basis. MHTSC is a member of the Michigan Core Technology Alliance (www.ctaalliance.org), a consortium of research laboratories with the goal of developing technologically sophisticated core facilities to enhance life sciences research and product development throughout the State of Michigan.

About Global Lifescience Solutions™, LLC:  Global Lifescience Solutions™, LLC, an NSF International Company, is a contract research organization (CRO) that offers integrated technical services for companies focused on product innovations in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, dietary supplements, food and nanotechnology (www.nsf-gls.com).  With clients ranging from innovative start-up companies to Fortune 100 and multi-national corporations, GLS provides comprehensive research services that address client needs for basic research, proof of concept, product regulatory registration, and field trials and validation.