Bio Screening Industry News

Novel drug screening tool based on the Bionas® 2500 analyzing system wins silver medal in European business plan contest

Rostock, Germany, November 26, 2007 / b3c newswire / - Bionas GmbH, a specialist for in vitro profiling the metabolic activity of cells, announced that Prof. Pedro Mestres of the Saarland University (Homburg/Saar, Germany) has been awarded the second prize in the business plan contest 1,2,3 GO for a novel drug sensitivity screening tool based on the Bionas technology.

Tumors react in different ways against anti-cancer drugs. It is therefore important to determine tumor drug sensitivity in order to establish a tumor and patient-specific therapy in the clinic.

Prof. Mestres, who plans to found a company for drug screening services in early 2008, has developed a tissue slicing technology producing microtumors that retain near-original tissue structure and cell activity. These microtumors are then analyzed with the Bionas® 2500 analyzing system for their metabolic activity upon drug treatment.

With the Bionas 2500 instrument we can analyze the metabolic pattern of the tissue slices in a highly precise way, “says Prof. Pedro Mestres. “This enables us to profile tissue specimens from tumor patients for optimal drug responsiveness”.

The Bionas® 2500 analyzing system gives a complete overview of the physiological state of cells and tissues by analyzing metabolic and morphological parameters over a long period.

About Bionas www.bionas.de
Bionas GmbH, located in Rostock, Germany, specializes in analyzing systems and services for in vitro profiling the metabolic activity of cells to understand cellular function. Bionas® 2500 analyzing system measures extracellular acidification, oxygen consumption and cell adhesion label-free and noninvasively. It can be applied to various cell types including primary cells and tissues. The readout is performed continuously and can be monitored online. Main applications include drug profiling, lead optimization, pharmacokinetics, early toxicology programs, ADME/Tox, chemosensitivity testing, toxicological testing of chemical substances (REACH) and cell culture monitoring and optimization.

Increasingly, disease-causing microorganisms are being analysed on a genetic level in the hope of identifying critical factors that might be therapeutically applicable. European research in this area is being promoted under the roof of the ERA-NET PathoGenoMics network. During the 3rd European Conference on Procaryotic Genomics, held from 7 to 10 October in Göttingen, Germany, the network recognised three outstanding pathogenomic PhD theses. This year is the second time the prize has been awarded. The winners were selected from ten applications.

The ERA-NET PathoGenoMics was initiated in 2004 by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and is a network of 15 partners from Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. Their aim is to promote genomic research on pathogenic microorganisms (pathogenomics) taking place in Europe. It was initiated in 2004 and is one of around 70 ERA-NET networks aimed at counteracting the fragmentation of the European Research Area. The ERA-NET scheme is a funding instrument of the European Commission, first introduced in the Sixth Framework Programme. The underlying intention is to step up the cooperation in research activities carried out at a national or regional level in the member states.

For the second time, the ERA-NET PathoGenoMics has recognised outstanding PhD theses in the field of pathogenomics research. The annual prize is endowed with 2000 Euros for each winner. This year, three reseachers have been chosen from a total of ten applications: Christel Archambaud (France), Cédric Delevoye (France) and Joâo Paulo dos Santos Gomes (Portugal). The official award ceremony took place during the 3rd European Conference on Procaryotic Genomics in Göttingen, Germany, on 8 October. Following an introduction by Nicole Firnberg (Austria), the winning researchers had the opportunity to present the results of their thesis. The researchers were later presented with their awards by the French scientist Philippe Glaser (Institute Pasteur, Paris): a large petri dish with synthetic resin as imitation agar, through which the official award certificate can be seen, as well as a hard copy of the certificate rolled in a volumetric flask.

Christel Archambaud from the Institut Pasteur in Paris has focused on the analysis of a special enzyme family involved in signal transduction (phosphatases) and its role in the pathogenicity of Listeria monocytogetes, which can cause a number of deadly infections due to its sophisticated survival and reproduction strategy once it has entered a host. In her PhD thesis, Archambaud has identified a functional phosphatase (Stp) that appears to be crucial for the virulence of Listeria.

Cédric Delevoye, working at the Institute Curie in Paris, has analysed the intracellular infection cycle of Chlamydia. Chlamydia is a sneaky bacterial genus that can only reproduce from within host cells and causes chronic infections that are extremely difficult or impossible to treat. In his PhD thesis, Delevoye focussed on identifying membrane proteins that are secreted by Chlamydia pneumoniae during infection. In addition, he functionally characterised a single protein from the IncA-family that appears to be essential for cellular membrane fusion events.

Joâo Paulo dos Santos Gomes, working at the National Institute of Health in Lisbon, studied biological and genetic features of Chlamydia trachomatis serological variants to reveal their different pathogenic potential. Dos Santos Gomes identified highly polymorphic so-called pmp genes as playing a significant role in infection and transmission ability based on transcriptomic and immunoactivity analysis. Furthermore, he found recombination among strains to be a mechanism for generating Chlamydia trachomatis diversity.

Research group leaders from the ERA-NET partner countries are now invited to submit a proposal for the PhD Award 2008. Deadline for submissions is the 28 February 2008.  For national contact details see www.pathogenomics-era.net

Oct 16, 2007 (Datamonitor via COMTEX) — MRK | charts | news | PowerRating — The FDA has granted Merck & Co.’s Isentress tablets accelerated approval for use in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in treatment-experienced adult patients who have evidence of viral replication and HIV-1 strains resistant to multiple antiretroviral agents.

This indication is based on analyses of plasma HIV-1 RNA levels up through 24 weeks in two controlled studies of Isentress (raltegravir). These studies were conducted in clinically advanced, three-class antiretroviral treatment-experienced adults.

The use of other active agents with Isentress is associated with a greater likelihood of treatment response.

The drug’s safety and efficacy have not been established in treatment-naive adult patients or pediatric patients. Longer-term data will be required before the FDA can consider traditional approval for Isentress.

Peter Kim, president of Merck Research Laboratories, said: “Isentress is the first drug in a new class of antiretroviral therapies that when used in combination with other effective antiretroviral agents, offers a new opportunity for individuals whose HIV infection is no longer adequately controlled and whose virus is resistant to multiple agents. This approval builds on our longstanding commitment to research in HIV/AIDS, with the goal of making truly differentiated therapies available to patients in need.”

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Munich , Oct 11, 2007 :  The planar patch clamp technology used in a family of automated electrophysiology products developed and marketed by Nanion Technologies GmbH in Munich , Germany , is among four technological and scientific innovations that have been nominated for this year’s Deutscher Zukunftspreis (German Future Award). The nomination of the project “Small Holes – Big Effects: Cell Physiology in a Chip Format” represented by Nanion’s CEO, Niels Fertig as well as CSO Andrea Brüggemann and Chairman of the Board Jan C. Behrends (University of Freiburg) was today announced in a press conference by Dr. Gert Haller, Secretary of State in the Office of the Federal President in Berlin. With the Deutscher Zukunftspreis, awarded once a year, the German Federal President honours outstanding achievements in Science and Technology. In their nominations for Germany’s most prestigious research award along with the Leibniz Prize, the Jury also appraises the commercial and employment-creation potential of scientific innovations. The prize will be bestowed on one of the four nominated teams by Federal President Horst Köhler on December 6.

Nanion Technologies is a start-up company founded in 2002 by a team of researchers (Dr. Niels Fertig, Dr. Robert H. Blick and Dr. Jan C. Behrends) from the Center for Nanoscience of the University of Munich and the company is run by the management team consisting of Dr. Niels Fertig (CEO), Dr. Andrea Brüggemann (CSO) and Michael George (CTO). Nanion has developed and successfully marketed the Port-a-Patch, a miniaturized patch clamp device, and, since 2006, the Patchliner, a fully automated higher throughput patch-clamp robot. Both devices use the NPC- patch clamp chips which are based on the research which has now been nominated for the award. They replace the traditional glass pipette used in the technique of patch clamping (E. Neher, B. Sakmann, Nobel Prize 1991) and enable automated and higher-throughput testing of potentially ion-channel active substances.

Links:

http://www.nanion.de

http://www.deutscher-zukunftspreis.de/newsite/nominierte/index.shtml

Sunnyvale, CA, May 22, 2007 - Portrait™ 630 Reagent Multi-spotter Wins Technology Prize at MipTec 10th Anniversary Conference in Basel, Switzerland

The European Laboratory Robotics Interest Group (ELRIG) has selected the Labcyte Portrait 630 reagent multi-spotter as the winner of its annual Technology Prize, awarded this year at the MipTec 10th Anniversary Conference, held May 8-11, 2007 in Basel, Switzerland. The award recognizes the most innovative product presented at the conference. A panel of independent judges selected the Portrait 630 system from among hundreds of products displayed by 114 vendors. The ELRIG is a not-for-profit organization, whose primary purpose is to provide a communication forum for members to increase their awareness of automation techniques and products used for scientific research, development or production. MipTec has evolved as the leading conference in Europe on enabling technologies in the drug discovery process. It combines a scientific program featuring scientific and technology experts with an accompanying exhibition.

The Portrait 630 reagent multi-spotter uses the Labcyte acoustic droplet ejection technology to bring automated reagent deposition to the new field of MALDI tissue imaging mass spectrometry (IMS). IMS links the label-free universal detection of mass spectrometry with the spatial information of molecular histology. IMS enables discovery in protein profiling, small molecule tracking, and other applications. The Portrait 630 reagent multi-spotter provides multi-step protocols, precise drop-on-drop positioning and flexible droplet timing, to automate sequential experiments such as proteolytic digests followed by matrix deposition. The Portrait 630 system enables users to optimize reaction conditions and crystal formation for more reproducible and higher quality mass spectra.

Labcyte Inc., headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is the world leader in providing acoustic droplet ejection technology for pharmaceutical and life science applications. The award-winning Echo 500 series liquid handlers and Portrait 630 reagent multi-spotters are used in nine of the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies, as well as in leading academic and research institutions and contract research organizations worldwide. The Labcyte acoustic droplet ejection technology has broad applications including compound management, assays, arraying, particle manufacturing, imaging mass spectrometry, and live-cell transfer. Labcyte also provides a range of unique microplate consumables. Labcyte has 28 issued U.S. patents, 3 issued European patents and additional international filings. For more information, visit www.labcyte.com.

A researcher at the University of Kansas Medical Center has been awarded more than $7.5 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health to lead a team, including researchers at seven universities, in a collaborative effort to develop male contraceptives.

This five-year grant will establish the Interdisciplinary Center for Male Contraceptive Research and Drug Development, a multi-institutional organization that will work to develop new non-hormo¬nal, reversible male contraceptive agents for drug production.

The center will not only consist of research teams at KU Medical Center and KU-Lawrence, but also collaborators across the country at the University of Minnesota, Duke University, the University of California-San Fransisco, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Funding for the center was awarded by the Contraception & Reproductive Health Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

The center will be directed by Joseph Tash, PhD, an associate professor of molecular and integrative physiology at KUMC, and associate director, Dr. Gunda Georg, Chair of Medicinal Chemistry at University of Minnesota. Tash, Georg, and a team of researchers at KUMC and KU Lawrence, have been conducting NIH-funded research, designing and testing male contraceptive agents, for more than five years.

Their work has lead to the development of some promising chemical compounds, such as Gamendazole, one of the most potent new oral anti-spermatogenic agents identified to date. Under this grant, research will continue on Gamendazole as well as exploring new lead compounds.

Tash said the group intends to take a multidisciplinary approach, focusing on several chemical compounds, and proteins that regulate testes function so that mature sperm are not produced. They are also concentrating on chemical agents that may temporarily deactivate enzymes so that sperm development is prevented or sperm are immobilized so the egg remains unfertilized. To identify new lead compounds, the center will utilize High Throughput Screening and proteomics to test hundreds of thousands of compounds.

While High Throughput Screening (HTS) technology is more common in private industry, KU is one of the few universities in the nation to have such a facility, which Tash said is important since many pharmaceutical companies have curtailed their research and development in male contraception. Without the HTS lab, screening hundreds of thousands of compounds could take years, but with the technology, screening time is dramatically reduced to weeks.

The research program in this center will go beyond identifying new protein targets involved in regulation of male fertility, and begin cutting edge drug discovery and design. The scientists involved in the research have a record of success in providing NIH with highly promising reversible non-hormonal male contraceptive agents.

Sunnyvale, CA, March 15, 2007 – Labcyte Inc. announces the issuance of U.S. Patent 7,185, 969 describing microplates used in high-throughput screening that have low electrical resistance. These plates are more easily electrically grounded than traditional plastic microplates and are more easily de-ionized.

“The trajectory of small droplets can be influenced by electric charges and fields,” said Chief Technical Officer, Richard Ellson. “We deionize both source plates and destinations in our current instruments, the Portrait™ 630 reagent multi-spotter, the Echo^® 550 and Echo 555 liquid handlers to reduce this effect. These advances in microplates will reduce the time required for deionization and improve the productivity of the process.”

“The Labcyte acoustic droplet ejection (ADE) technology  used in our award-winning Echo^® Series 500 liquid handlers has quickly become the state-of-the-art in sample transfer in high-throughput screening laboratories in the pharmaceutical industry. The technology described in this patent will allow us to increase throughput while expanding the range of available applications.  This invention will also facilitate the placement of arrays onto the bottom of individual wells in multi-well systems. In this case, it is not sufficient to ensure that the compound was simply transferred to a well but that it was transferred to a particular location in the well with no overlap with other compounds transferred. Even a slight charge could force droplets to change trajectory and position of or even move after they land.

These microplates will aid in miniaturization and enable our users to take further advantage of the small drops produced by our acoustic drop ejection technology.

Labcyte Inc., headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is the world leader in providing acoustic droplet ejection technology for pharmaceutical and life science applications. The award-winning Echo 500 series liquid handlers and Portrait 630 reagent multi-spotters are used in seven of the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies, as well as in leading academic and research institutions and contract research organizations worldwide. The Labcyte acoustic droplet ejection technology has broad applications including compound management, assays, arraying, particle manufacturing, imaging mass spectrometry, and live-cell transfer. Labcyte also provides a range of unique microplate consumables. Labcyte has 28 issued U.S. patents, 3 issued European patents and additional international filings. For more information, visit www.labcyte.com.

Nanion Technologies GmbH, a supplier of automated, parallel patch-clamp systems based in Munich, Germany, today announced that they would appeal the decision of the European Patent Office (EPO) to uphold the disputed Molecular Devices patent EP 1,040,349.

The appeal is merely a precaution against problems with future developments in the field and it should be realized that the disputed patent has no relevance for Nanion’s currently marketed products such as the Port-a-Patch or the Patchliner. Rather, the disputed patent seeks protection for a well-known physical effect that theoretically can be used to exert electrical force on cells or vesicles.

“All currently marketed planar patch-clamp devices use suction to move cells, not electrical force, which so far has proved unreliable. However, all of them, and many other devices published long before MDC’s patent can produce such electrical forces if enough voltage is applied.” explains Nanion’s CEO Niels Fertig. Jan Behrends, cofounder and chairman of the board concurs: “In its provisional opinion, the Opposition Division at EPO in Munich, seemed to have understood this point very clearly. We were very surprised that during oral proceedings they moved away from their original opinion, but we’re confident that the Board of Appeal, who will really make the final judgement, will reverse that decision.”

The disputed patent was originally filed by the Ecole Polytechnique Federale in Lausanne, Switzerland and then taken over by Cytion SA, a start-up company acquired by Molecular Devices in 2001 and shut down shortly after.

Andrea Brüggemann, CSO at Nanion, comments: “Our customers should know that this patent dispute in no way concerns our present planar patch technology, nor indeed those marketed by Molecular Devices. The recent decision, which is open to appeal, is, therefore, not a concern for our core business.”

In both academic and industrial settings, Nanion’s Port-a-Patch enjoys great popularity as the world’s smallest patch clamp device. Furthermore, the Patchliner, Nanion’s higher throughput patch-clamp robot, has seen a very successful market entry in 2006. Both in 2005 and 2006 Nanion’s products received top ratings in customer surveys run by HTStec.

Nanion Technologies GmbH is a German Private Limited Company and was founded in 2002 as a spin off from Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany.

www.nanion.de

PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ — Frost & Sullivan selected DiscoveRx Corp. as the recipient of the 2006 Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation for its development of the PathHunter(TM), an innovative protein trafficking platform technology. In its simplest format, this assay system allows users to monitor signaling pathways using translocation in whole cells. Today, DiscoveRx offers a broad range of assays and services for evaluating compound effects on various cellular pathways including their most recent addition, PathHunter Beta-Arrestin assays for GPCR activation.

PathHunter is based on the DiscoveRx’s proprietary technology platform: Enzyme Fragment Complementation (EFC) technology. EFC has been used to develop a series of highly validated biochemical HTS assays for GPCR, Kinases and Proteases. PathHunter is a modification of this highly versatile platform into a cell based format. PathHunter represents the first chemiluminescence assay technology that can measure protein trafficking directly inside the cell and act as a liaison between in vitro biochemical assays and the more complex multiparameter imaging technologies.

“Screening technologies that are faster, more cost effective and that provide biological rich information are always sought after,” says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst R. Srimathy. “PathHunter offers several benefits that position it to be the assay technology of choice.”

For instance, it allows the user to reduce the complexity of using cell- based assay to simple microtiter plate formats. PathHunter assays (as well as HitHunter assays) are homogeneous in nature, one- or two-step reagent addition assays, which do not need any cell washing or cell fixation steps.

Furthermore, the assays are compatible with many different cell types and especially suited for cell types most commonly used in high throughput screening (HTS) settings (Chinese Hamster Ovary [CHO], Human Embryonic Kidney [HEK]).

Some of the main advantages of DiscoveRx’s technology for cell-based assays are increased throughput in 384 well formats, compatibility with luminescent plate readers, and delivery of luminescence output for reduced interference from fluorescent compounds.

The PathHunter is also readily adaptable to automated screening and performs novel HTS assay for new classes of compounds. It has a simplified method for sample preparation and offers a wide range of assays such as translocation, degradation, secretion protein: protein interaction and membrane trafficking.

The PathHunter platform allows scientists to detect protein trafficking without any form of imaging features and it is highly cost effective, that is, the cost involved is only a fraction of the cost involved in using the normal green fluorescent protein (GFP)-based assays. Furthermore, the technology can also be miniaturized and used for 1536 format.

“DiscoveRx is being increasingly recognized in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector for creating advanced assays for G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), kinases, and other drug target classes,” notes Srimathy. “The company’s in vitro biochemical and cell-based assays will help accelerate drug discovery and development even as the PathHunter technology is being used to look at other protein movement.”

In summary, the Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation recognizes DiscoveRx for its introduction of an innovative technology platform, the PathHunter, and its overall work on intact or lysed cell-based assays for GPCR, kinases, proteases, and nuclear hormone receptors.

Each year Frost & Sullivan presents this Award to a company that has demonstrated and carried out new research, which has resulted in innovation(s) that have or are expected to bring significant contributions to the industry in terms of adoption, change, and competitive posture. This Award recognizes the quality and depth of a company’s research and development program as well as the vision and risk-taking that enabled it to undertake such an endeavor.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About DiscoveRx Inc.

Founded in 2000, DiscoveRx is a privately held, venture-backed company headquartered in Fremont, California, with an additional office in Birmingham, England. The Company pioneered the use of Beta-galactosidase enzyme fragment complementation in biochemical and cell based assays for discovery research, and holds extensive intellectual property in this area. DiscoveRx is dedicated to the development and commercialization of innovative solutions to study GPCRs, Kinases and other major drug target classes, and many of their innovative products have been widely adopted in pharmaceutical and biotech drug screening laboratories worldwide. For more information on DiscoveRx products, please visit http://www.discoverx.com

Contact:
Ms. Sailaja Kuchibhatla
1-510-979-1415 ext.104
(skuchibhatla@discoverx.com)

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company’s industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services, and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies, and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics, and demographics. For more information, visit http://www.awards.frost.com or http://www.drugdiscovery.frost.com .

Contact:
Stacie Jones
210.247.2450
Stacie.jones@frost.com

Labcyte Inc. has announced the issuance of U.S. Patent 7,090,333 describing the use of acoustic droplet ejection (ADE) for the preparation of microarrays of proteins and peptides.

ADE uses sound to move fluids eliminating all physical contact with the liquid being transferred.

This disposes of the need for pin tools, pipettes and nozzles that are currently used to make protein arrays and are known to cause loss of protein due to adsorption on the device surfaces.

ADE is also precise with the coefficient of variation, the measure of precision, often a few percent even at the nanoliter and picoliter level. ADE can even transfer volumes as low as 25 femtoliters (0.000025 nanoliters).

“This broad patent expands the horizons for protein array preparation,” said Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Elaine J. Heron.

“While the challenges of producing DNA arrays have largely been addressed, protein arrays present new problems that have not been adequately solved.”

“ADE solves these problems by eliminating the possibility of adsorption on the transfer device, which leads to variation in the amount of protein as well as cross contamination.”

“Our next step in the array area is to work with customers who wish to make highly reproducible protein or peptide arrays for their own use or for sale.”

“The Labcyte ADE technology is used in our award-winning Echo™ Series 500 liquid handlers.”

“These systems have quickly become the state-of-the-art in sample transfer in high-throughput screening laboratories in the pharmaceutical industry.”

“The elimination of pipette tips and pin tools with their large incremental costs in operation was an early driving force for their adoption.”

“But the improved results in precision and in assay results have had an even bigger impact upon users of the systems.”

“ADE transfers compounds directly from source microplates to assay plates or to microscopes slides for arrays by quickly moving a transducer from underneath one well to the next.”

“The focused sound energy generates a droplet from the source fluid for transfer at each well, and there is no need to clean the sound generator as it does not touch the source fluid.”

“This method of transfer eliminates the loss of compounds by adsorption to pin tools and pipettes.”

“Pharmaceutical researchers have proved that these losses lead to missing hits in screening.”

“We feel that the elimination of pin tools and pipettes in protein array preparation will have a similar impact on results.”

Further Information: http://www.labcyte.com