26 September 2000 Astex Technology, the biotechnology company specialising in High Throughput X-ray Crystallography, today announced that it will be the first commercial recipient worldwide of the latest technology for X-ray data collection. The Jupiter CCD machines, from Rigaku MSC (Texas, USA), will dramatically reduce the time it takes to complete the X-ray analysis of protein crystals. The new machines will play a central role in the implementation of Astex's High Throughput X-ray Crystallography (HTX™) technology. The company works with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners to provide this technology for rational drug design.
Astex has also announced that it has established a major contractual agreement with the European Synchrotron (ESRF) at Grenoble (France). The ESRF is a third generation synchrotron which will provide Astex with access to a high intensity X-ray beam for rapidly solving protein crystal structures.
"Rapid X-ray data collection is a key step in our High Throughput X-ray Crystallography (HTX™) platform," said Dr Harren Jhoti, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer. "Our new Jupiter CCD machines and the high intensity X-ray beam at the ESRF will allow us to apply HTX™ to an unprecedented number of protein targets, which will help secure Astex's position in this rapidly emerging field."
Prof. Peter Lindley, a Director of Research at the ESRF stated, "Astex Technology is an innovator in High Throughput X-ray Crystallography and we are very pleased that they recognise the potential in Europe's third generation synchrotron source in enhancing their technology." |
