UPPSALA, Sweden, July 23, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Personal Chemistry announced today that they have entered into an agreement with the Japanese subsidiary of Amersham Biosciences for the distribution of Coherent Synthesis(TM), Personal Chemistry's complete solution for medicinal and combinatorial chemistry.
Under the terms of the agreement, Amersham Biosciences KK will be the sole distributor of Personal Chemistry's products in Japan. No financial details were disclosed.
Coherent Synthesis(TM) incorporates innovative chemistry methodology, software, automation, microwave technology and reagents to speed up chemical reactions by between 10 and 1000 times, often with an increased yield of the compound. In addition to the increased speed and yield, the technology may solve complex chemistry problems that were previously very difficult to undertake using traditional methods. Emrys(TM) Knowledge Builder was launched in May and is a knowledge management system for Coherent Synthesis(TM), combining reaction warehousing, search tools, reaction browsers, conversion of search results to executable experiments and postsynthesis data capture.
Scott Carr, Vice President World Wide Sales for Personal Chemistry, commented: "Amersham Biosciences is recognized as a leader in life science technology and supply and our partnership with them will provide instant visibility for our Coherent Synthesis(TM) technology in the Japanese market. We have experienced dramatic sales growth in the U.S. and in Europe over the past 12 months and are excited to be launching our products in Japan."
By adding Personal Chemistry's technology to their existing product lineup, Amersham Biosciences KK aims to strengthen its existing product portfolio in the support of drug discovery at pharmaceutical companies and in academic research institutes. As part of the first sale of Coherent Synthesis(TM) in Japan, Amersham Biosciences KK will install Personal Chemistry's instrument at GlaxoSmithKline KK.
Personal Chemistry is a private Swedish company that develops and markets Coherent Synthesis, a complete solution for faster chemistry development within medicinal and combinatorial chemistry. The company has its headquarters in Uppsala and subsidiaries in Boston (U.S.), Cambridge (U.K.) and Konstanz (Germany). Personal Chemistry currently employs 100 people of whom more than 40 are chemists. The company was founded by Dr Soren Nygren and financed by HealthCap in 1998. 3i, Investor Growth Capital, Bank Invest and SEB have also invested in Personal Chemistry.
Amersham Biosciences, the life sciences business of Amersham plc (LSE:AHM) (NYSE:AHM) (OSE:AHM), is a world leader in developing and providing integrated systems and solutions for disease research, drug development and manufacture. Its systems are used to uncover the function of genes and proteins, for the discovery and development of drugs and for the manufacture of biopharmaceuticals. The customers for Amersham Biosciences' products and technologies are pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and research and academic institutions, principally in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. More information about Amersham Biosciences is available at www.amershambiosciences.com.