NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. and BILLERICA, Mass.--(BW HealthWire)--Nov. 7, 2001-- GeneProt's New U.S. Proteomics Facility to be Equipped with UltraFlex(TM)TOF/TOF Systems
GeneProt(TM), Inc. and Bruker Daltonics Inc. (NASDAQ: BDAL) today announced an agreement to deploy novel MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry technology at GeneProt's new U.S. proteomics facility in North Brunswick, N.J. Under the agreement, GeneProt will initially purchase a total of six UltraFlex(TM)TOF/TOF systems for its U.S. facility and an additional UltraFlex TOF/TOF system for its European proteomics discovery and production center. GeneProt's U.S. facility is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2002.
MALDI-TOF/TOF technology dramatically increases the throughput, sensitivity and specificity of proteomic studies. It provides traditional MALDI-TOF peptide mass finger-printing for protein identification, and then immediately, on the same target and without further sample work-up, provides detailed tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) information for unambiguous identification and the characterization of proteins.
"We are moving very rapidly to utilize cutting-edge TOF/TOF technology in our proteomic drug discovery programs in the near future," said Cedric Loiret-Bernal, M.D., GeneProt's Chief Executive Officer. "Our scientific experts have carefully analyzed and tested the available MALDI-TOF/TOF systems, and we have come to the conclusion that the UltraFlex TOF/TOF excels in its performance. GeneProt is excited to be the one of first companies to make the advanced Bruker Daltonics MALDI-TOF/TOF systems available to our current and future pharmaceutical partners in an industrial-scale proteomics facility."
The UltraFlex TOF/TOF was introduced by Bruker Daltonics in July 2001, and due to its unique design it excels in sensitivity and throughput, as well as the information content provided. From a few femtomoles of a protein digest, the UltraFlex TOF/TOF will typically provide MS/MS characterization of five to ten tryptic peptides in less than 3 minutes, in what traditionally has taken more than 30 minutes by LC/MS/MS. The UltraFlex uses microtitre-sized AnchorChip(TM) targets, which are compatible with many industry-standard robots for protein digestion, MALDI target preparation, and robotic delivery of targets to the UltraFlex for unattended, uninterrupted operation. In addition, the UltraFlex TOF/TOF data is easily interpreted by existing bioinformatics software, making the integration of high-quality TOF/TOF data into present proteomics paradigms robust and automated.
Frank Laukien, Ph.D., President and CEO of Bruker Daltonics, commented: "We are very pleased that, after careful evaluation, GeneProt has decided to utilize our UltraFlex TOF/TOF systems for their new U.S. facility. It will enhance their already very impressive technology platform for proteomics, and we believe that it will further strengthen GeneProt's position as a leading proteomics company."
About GeneProt
GeneProt(TM), Inc. is a global industrial-scale proteomics company focused on identifying, characterizing, selecting and, when appropriate, synthesizing certain human proteins on behalf of life sciences companies for use in the discovery and development of new therapeutic proteins, protein drug targets and protein biomarkers. GeneProt brings together and integrates international teams of leading experts in proteomics and bioinformatics with the vision, insight and ability to speed the development and enhance the quality of tomorrow's human therapies.
GeneProt's partners include leading pharmaceutical and technology companies and academic and scientific institutions such as Novartis, Compaq, Bruker Daltonics and the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics. The company will pursue additional partnerships with organizations that can derive value from or bring value to GeneProt's unique offerings in proteomics discovery and production. Pharmaceutical partnerships represent potential significant revenue sources for both the short and the long term.
With headquarters in North Brunswick, New Jersey, GeneProt opened the world's first fully operational, industrial-scale proteomics discovery and production facility in Geneva, Switzerland, in April 2001. The facility houses the world's largest commercial supercomputer, equipped with state-of-the-art mass spectrometers and some of the most advanced bioinformatic and computing data-storage technologies and uses leading genetic and protein databases. GeneProt's capacity will double when the second facility opens at its headquarters site in the first half of 2002. For more information, please visit www.geneprot.com. |
