biz.yahoo.com
...The key to Biacore achieving its longer-term, aggressive growth ambitions is its unique SPR array chip technology. This technology is a major breakthrough for Biacore as it can potentially increase 1,000 fold the number of binding assays that can be analyzed per day. It is this dramatic increase in throughput that should allow Biacore to become a major player in the so-called proteomics revolution that is set to become the most important area of life science research over the next decade.
The last three months has seen the start of Biacore's collaboration with Millennium Pharmaceuticals to commercialize its SPR array chip technology for proteomics applications focused on drug discovery. This collaboration, which was signed in June 2000, is the first of a number of collaborations that Biacore expects to sign in order to develop the technology.
The Millennium -- Biacore project is in the process of recruiting the dedicated research teams that will work on this joint development program. Biacore will supply and develop all necessary SPR technology expertise, instrumentation, array chips, consumables and software, while Millennium will contribute specific assay and drug discovery applications to develop defined assay methodologies.
Biacore will retain the right to commercialize SPR-technology-related developments arising from this collaboration. Millennium will benefit from early access to the technology, and an anticipated positive uplift in the productivity of its own drug discovery programs.
The collaboration will focus on developing specific high throughput proteomics and other applications that will lead to important productivity enhancing advances across all aspects of the drug discovery process.
Biacore is confident that the successful development of its new SPR array chip technology will provide the pharmaceutical industry with a unique tool to both explore protein function and to evaluate the vast number of proteins identified from genomics as potential therapeutic targets.
Given the massive commercial potential for Biacore's unique SPR array chip technology, the company has decided to increase significantly its R&D investment in order to bring it to the market as rapidly as possible. In the year 2001 Biacore expects to more than double the SEK 15 million research investment that is being dedicated to SPR array technology this year. This investment in SPR array chip technology is in addition to the company's on-going level of R&D.... |
