UPPSALA, Sweden, Nov. 19, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Biacore International AB (Biacore) (SSE:BCOR) (Nasdaq:BCOR) today announced the introduction of its new cell-based assay system at the first of a series of industry meetings involving drug discovery experts from many of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies. The seminar program will culminate in a poster presentation at IBC's Cell-Based Assays & Screening Conference in Philadelphia, PA, December 4-6, 2002. The new system, Procel(TM), is designed specifically for cell-based secondary screening and pharmacology profiling of potential new drug leads and will complement Biacore's existing molecular-based systems for drug discovery.
More than 80 percent of all drug screening groups use cell-based assays to provide vital information on compounds with therapeutic potential. Procel(TM) is the first automated system dedicated to high content profiling of compounds targeting G-protein coupled receptors (which represents 1/3 of all drug discovery projects) and ion channels.
"Hit" verification is automatically followed by dose-response curves for positive compounds and retrieval of critical pharmacology parameters that provide invaluable information on potency, mechanism of action, specificity and efficacy. This is carried out in an automated fashion, saving time and resources. In addition, the flexibility of both the hardware and software allows users greater freedom in their assay design.
Data presented at the IBC conference demonstrate that the new system is highly robust and capable of delivering reproducible and detailed information about how potential drug candidates may be expected to behave in vivo.
Procel(TM) is designed to complement Biacore(R) S51, launched last year for lead characterization and preclinical applications in drug discovery. In combination, the two platforms will allow Biacore to offer the drug discovery industry a fully integrated solution of both cellular and molecular based assays that are designed to accelerate dramatically the optimization of quality lead compounds for drug development.
"We are pleased to introduce Procel(TM) and anticipate broad market acceptance when we continue the launch activities early in the new year," commented Julian Abery, Vice President and Head of the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Business Unit at Biacore. "Its complementary position alongside Biacore S(R)51 allows critical decisions to be made earlier in the drug discovery process. We therefore predict sales synergies in markets where we have already been successful with complementary technologies. This places Biacore in a strong competitive position with an offering that is superior to existing analytical instrumentation."
For further information, please contact:
Ulf Jonsson, President & CEO Biacore International AB +41 (0)79 668 8336 Julian Abery Biacore AB Vice President Head of Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Unit +44 (0)1386 853 949 ,+44 (0) 78089 00732 (mobile) julian.abery@biacore.com Scientific/Trade Press Enquiries: Michelle Lerner, HCC De Facto Group +44 (0) 207 496 3354 m.lerner@hccdefacto.com
Cautionary Statement
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which, by their nature, involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
About Biacore
Biacore is a global market leader in Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) technology based systems with its own sales operations in the U.S., across Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. A strong patent portfolio protects Biacore's SPR technology, which gives unique real- time insights into biomolecular interactions. Target groups for the Company's products consist primarily of medical and life science research laboratories and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies around the world. Biacore is focusing on drug discovery and development as its prime areas for future growth. The Company currently has seven systems on the market, the most important of which are: Biacore(R)S51 for applications downstream of high-throughput screening (HTS) including rapid characterization of HTS hits, and the comprehensive pre-clinical evaluation of lead compounds, and Biacore(R)3000, which offers flexibility in key life science research and drug discovery applications upstream of HTS. The recently introduced Biacore(R)C is specifically designed for compliant concentration analysis of biopharmaceuticals in GLP/GMP applications. A new SPR array chip system, which will provide higher information content, is expected to reach the market in 2004.
Based in Uppsala, Sweden, the Company is listed on Stockholmsborsen and Nasdaq in the U.S. In 2001 the Company had sales of SEK 544 million and an operating income of SEK 64 million.
Further information on Biacore can be found on the web: www.biacore.com
Address and phone: Biacore International AB Rapsgatan 7, SE-754 50, Uppsala, SWEDEN, Phone: +46 (0)18-67 57 00, Fax: +46 (0)18-15 01 10, e-mail: info@biacore.com
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