UPPSALA, Sweden, Oct. 20, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Biacore International AB (Biacore) (SSE:BCOR) announced today that it has signed its first commercial deal for its new SPR (Surface Plasmon Resonance) array technology with The Biological Information Research Center (BIRC) of The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), a leading Japanese Life Science Research Center specialized in proteomics. The deal with BIRC-AIST signals the start of the first stage of the commercialization of Biacore's array technology. The terms of the agreement with BIRC-AIST were not disclosed.
Biacore's new array technology aims to improve the speed with which detailed protein interaction information can be generated by enabling the parallel analysis of bio-molecules of interest against panels of proteins. This initial commercial contract with BIRC-AIST is envisaged to be the first of a number of deals with major pharmaceutical companies and world-leading life science research institutes. This first set of commercial agreements is designed to optimize further the range of applications that the technology can be used for, particularly in the field of interaction proteomics. The initial commercialization phase of the array technology will be managed by a specialist product development team within Biacore that includes key R&D and business development personnel.
`We are pleased to be working with Biacore KK, a reliable and respected company in Japan. We feel that the incorporation of this new array platform into our research initiatives will generate high-quality protein interaction information that will make a valuable contribution to our program of screening cDNA expression libraries', commented Dr Nomura, the Deputy Director of the Biological Information Research Center, at AIST, Tokyo.
Erik Wallden, Biacore's President and CEO said: ``today's announcement is a significant step forwards in Biacore's objective to reinforce its product offering. Biacore's ability to deliver its new SPR array technology on time reflects the high level of skill and commitment of our R&D organization. The controlled roll-out of this technology with a small number of key customers will allow us to develop and optimize the technology's use in key target applications in interaction proteomics and post-HTS small molecule characterization. We expect that over time this new technology will become a major new tool across a broad range of life science research applications".
For further information, please contact: Erik Wallden, President and CEO +41 (0) 79 769 4542
Scientific/Trade Press Enquiries: Sue Cresswell, Market Communication Director +41 (0) 79 710 8311
About SPR Array Technology
Biacore's SPR array technology has been designed and developed for use in a broad range of applications in proteomics, antibody characterization and many areas within drug discovery including hit validation, compound library screening, lead optimization and pre-clinical studies.
Biacore's array technology rapidly monitors protein interactions (thousands of interactions per day) to generate high quality kinetic, affinity and selectivity of binding information.
Biacore's new SPR array technology enables the parallel real-time analysis of protein interactions combining increased throughput, with the sensitivity needed to handle small molecule analysis. The array technology brings a new dimension to the study of protein interactions by using parallel analysis to generate crucial information on the behavior and interactions of a wide range of proteins grouped into panels or other configurations. The system also includes new software tools that have been optimized for array applications and are designed to handle large data volumes.
About Biacore
Biacore is a global supplier of analytical systems that improve the productivity of research and development in the life science, pharmaceutical and diagnostic markets. The company's instruments generate unique data on protein interactions, an area of increasing focus in these markets. These data give insights into protein functionality, the role of proteins in normal and diseased states, and the influence of potential drug candidates.
Use of Biacore's products is well documented in key areas such as antibody characterization, proteomics, lead optimization and bio-therapeutic development and production. Customers include leading life science research centers, all of the leading global pharmaceutical companies, and a large number of companies in the emerging biotechnology sector.
Biacore is successfully expanding into the food analysis market, providing key manufacturers with ready-to-use solutions for the determination of food quality and safety.
The company offers a range of products to meet specific customer needs. All instruments utilize SPR technology as the basis for detection and monitoring of protein interactions.
Biacore has its own direct sales capability in the world's key markets, United States, Europe, Japan, Australia and a distribution network in Asia-Pacific. The company was created in 1984 and is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange (SSE:BCOR).
Further information on Biacore can be found on the web: www.biacore.com
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