Biotage AB and McMaster University sign joint agreement to develop new chemistry platform to speed the production of molecular imaging and therapy agents.

Biotage AB and McMaster University sign joint agreement to develop new chemistry platform to speed the production of molecular imaging and therapy agents.

As part of the agreement, Biotage will provide funding and instruments, including an Initiator microwave synthesizer, SP4 flash purification system, and V10 Evaporator. These automated instruments work together to streamline workflow and speed production. The McMaster Institute of Applied Radiation Sciences (McIARS) will apply funding and equipment to speed the development of novel molecular imaging agents for PET and SPECT and radiotherapy agents for treatment applications. Biotage is the only company that offers solutions for synthesis, purification and evaporation, providing instruments and consumables for these key development steps.  

“This partnership brings together cutting edge synthesis and purification tools with radiopharmaceutical research which spans basic science to the development and testing of novel imaging and therapy agents. The new platform technologies will facilitate the process of producing tracers and therapeutics and it will be particularly useful for developing radiolabeled analogues of new drug candidates. The latter aim is particularly important as imaging is playing an increasingly important role in early clinical trials,” Dr. John F. Valliant, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Medical Physics, and Acting Director of McIARS stated.

Kelvin Hammond, Vice President of Business Development remarked, “Molecular imaging will play a significant role in the future of drug discovery by enabling biodistribution and pharmacokinetic data to be acquired early on in the drug discovery process. This will enable companies to weed out compounds that are likely to fail before they enter larger and more expensive human clinical trials.   

“The Biotage mission has always been to develop innovative solutions to accelerate the drug discovery process. In partnering with McMaster University, Biotage can play an important role in advancing the development of radiopharmaceuticals. Speed, yield, purity and safety, proven attributes of Biotage instrumentation, are critical factors for effective production of molecular imaging and therapy agents particularly those with short half-life isotopes, said Torben Jögensen President and CEO of Biotage AB. 




Contact:								
Torben Jörgensen, President and CEO					
Tel: +46 1856 59 00, torben.jorgensen@eu.biotage.com 
Mike Lally, Vice President Marketing Biotage, Discovery Chemistry Group
Tel: +1 434 220 2614, mlally@biotage.com


About Biotage
Biotage is a global company active in life science research with strong technologies, a broad range of operations and a long-term view of the market. The company offers solutions, knowledge and experience in the areas of genetic analysis and medicinal chemistry. Customers include the worlds top 30 pharmaceutical companies, 20 largest biotech companies and leading academic institutes. The company is headquartered in Uppsala and has offices in the US, Japan, UK and several other European countries. Biotage has approx. 330 employees and had pro-forma sales of approx. 500 MSEK in 2004. Biotage is listed on the Stockholm stock exchange. Website: www.biotage.com
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking. These may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases such as "believe,""expect,""intend," and "should," among others. These forward-looking statements are based on Biotage’s current expectations. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for such forward-looking statements. In order to comply with the terms of the safe harbor, Biotage notes that a variety of factors could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements. Such uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with management of growth and international operations (including the effects of currency fluctuations), variability of operating results, the commercial development of the microwave synthesis and flash purification in the drug discovery market, DNA sequencing and genomics market, nucleic acid-based molecular diagnostics market, and genetic vaccination and gene therapy markets, competition, rapid or unexpected changes in technologies, fluctuations in demand for Biotage’s products (including seasonal fluctuations), difficulties in successfully adapting the Company’s products to integrated solutions and producing such products, and the Company’s ability to identify and develop new products and to differentiate its products from competitors. 


About McMaster Institute of Applied Radiation Sciences (McIARS)
McIARS is an interdisciplinary research institute. Its members are drawn primarily from the Faculties of Science, Engineering and Health Sciences at McMaster. The common focus is on the uses of radiation. Applications include analytical techniques, isotope chemistry, medical diagnosis and therapy, study of radiation effects in living systems and on materials and in protection of the environment and humans. Collaborative and contractual links outside McMaster include those with government, healthcare and industry. There is also a network of formal and informal partnerships internationally and across Canada.

Members of McIARS use a wide variety of facilities throughout McMaster’s campus and in Hamilton’s network of academic healthcare institutions. There are three core facilities at the heart of McIARS. These are the McMaster Nuclear Reactor, McMaster Accelerator Laboratory and licensed laboratories for handling high levels of radioactive materials. http://www.mcmaster.ca