RE: CPHD
Hi, Sergio...longtime no talk!
The following is a very comprehensive review of the Northrop, ETG, Cepheid PR of this AM, courtesy of the excellent DD on the RB CPHD board: [thx, blacko1!]
ragingbull.lycos.com
By: Blacko1 $$$$$
11 Mar 2002, 12:00 PM EST Msg. 7879 of 7883
Postal Sorting DD CPHD NOC ETG
PCR and Mail Sorting
USPS Sees New Way to Spot Biohazards
Device in Mail Sorters Could Detect Anthrax Without a Lab
By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, March 9, 2002; Page A13
The U.S. Postal Service plans to use a highly sophisticated technology -- polymerase chain reaction (PCR) -- to detect anthrax spores and other biohazards in the mail virtually as it is being sorted, postal officials announced yesterday.
The PCR technology is still being tested for adaptation to high-speed postal sorters, but by the end of September, USPS plans to sign a $200 million contract to install the PCR systems at 292 facilities around the country, Chief Engineer Tom Day said...
The agency is working with two firms that have developed PCR prototypes for post offices...
Day would not disclose the names of the firms. One has a contract to help the military detect anthrax spores. The other has adapted the technology for doctors to conduct lab testing in their offices.
The systems will be able to detect eight biohazards, including anthrax spores. Day said the Pentagon will not allow the others to be named.
washingtonpost.com
Monday March 11, 10:22 am Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Cepheid
Northrop Grumman, Cepheid and ETG Working to Develop PCR-Based Bio-Threat Detectors for Mail Sorting Systems
BALTIMORE and SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE: NOC - news) Automation and Information Systems Division, Cepheid (Nasdaq: CPHD - news) and Environmental Technologies Group Inc. (ETG), a wholly owned subsidiary of London-based Smith's Aerospace, have announced that they are working collaboratively on the adaptation of DNA-based bio-threat detection technology for use on U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail sorting systems.
The proposed system utilizes polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology to rapidly analyze air samples taken from mail sorting systems and detect trace levels of DNA from anthrax spores and other biological agents.
The USPS recently announced that it was evaluating PCR technology for possible deployment later this year. No contract has been awarded at this time.
About Northrop Grumman
Headquartered in Baltimore, Md., Northrop Grumman's Automation and Information Systems Division has been providing automation design, equipment fabrication, field deployment and logistics support to the USPS for more than 11 years. The division is part of the company's Electronic Systems sector, a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of defense electronics and systems, including airborne radar, navigation systems, electronic warfare systems, precision weapons, air traffic control systems, air defense systems, communications systems, space systems, marine systems, oceanic and naval systems, logistics systems, and automation and information systems.
About Cepheid
Cepheid, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of miniaturized, fully integrated systems for rapid, on-site detection of DNA -- the universal biological identifier. Founded in 1996, the company is commercializing its technology and products for scientific, medical and industrial applications requiring time-critical detection of human and other genes, infectious disease agents, and industrial and environmental contaminants at the point of need. See www.cepheid.com for more information.
About Environmental Technologies Group
ETG is a leading provider of full-service, advanced engineering technology for nuclear, biological, and chemical detection systems for government and other commercial applications. ETG is part of the Smiths Aerospace Detection & Protection Systems along with Graseby Dynamics Ltd in the UK and Barringer Technologies in Canada. Smiths Aerospace is the leading transatlantic aerospace equipment company, with half its 12,000 staff and $2 billion revenues in North America. The Company holds key positions in the supply chains of all major military and civil aircraft and engine manufacturers and are world-leaders in electronic systems, detection and protection systems, actuation systems and precision components.
Statements in this release, including those that may relate to revenue growth, trends in financial or operational performance, litigation, new product plans and business prospects are forward-looking statements. Actual results might differ materially from these statements due to risks and uncertainties, including the impact of competitive products and pricing, market acceptance of new products, market conditions and enforcement of intellectual property rights. A more detailed description of these risks and other risks applicable to Cepheid appears in Cepheid's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and available upon request from Cepheid. Cepheid disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
SOURCE: Cepheid
NOC Advanced Sortation and Material Handling Solutions
sensor.northgrum.com
Northrop Grumman completes acquisition of Mannesmann Dematic Postal Automation S.A. business
Northrop Grumman Corporation has acquired Mannesmann Dematic Postal Automation S.A., a leading European-based manufacturer of postal sorting equipment. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
MDPA will be known as Solystic S.A., a Northrop Grumman company, and will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the corporation. Solystic, which has approximately 700 employees, will report into the Automation and Information Systems Division (A&IS), a business unit of the company's Electronic Sensors and Systems Sector, headquartered in Baltimore, Md.
The Solystic business base complements Northrop Grumman's position in automation and systems integration for postal service and parcel courier sortation and delivery customers. In addition, the acquisition will provide further international growth for A&IS.
Solystic has a worldwide presence with customers in more than 20 countries. Key customers include La Poste in France, the United Kingdom and the United States Postal Service.
"Solystic's core capabilities and strong international customer base are an excellent fit for our business," said Mitch Mroz, vice president of Northrop Grumman's A&IS Division. "ES3 continues to focus on high-growth businesses that dovetail with, and enhance, our business strategies."
Pierre Andre Barriere, president and chief executive officer of Solystic, said, "We will continue to grow as we combine resources to further enhance our ongoing relationships with our postal customers worldwide."
Solystic is recognized as the world leader of flat mail (magazines, catalogs and circulars) automation equipment. A key product of the French-based company is the AFSM-100, known in Europe as TOP FSM, a machine that sorts "flats" at more than twice the speed and at less operating cost than existing USPS flat sorters.
The AFSM-100 is currently being built and installed by a team comprising Rapistan Systems and Northrop Grumman A&IS. The team is currently under contract with USPS to install 537 machines throughout the United States. Additionally, the team has a contract with the British Royal Mail to deploy the next generation of flats sorting machine, the TOP 2000, a system with a capacity of 40,000 pieces per hour.
Other Solystic products include STAR, a letter sortation system capable of sorting 53,000 pieces of mail an hour; MARS, a local post office delivery point sequencing system; and advanced optical character recognition and video encoding equipment and software.
aerotechnews.com
March 11, 2002By: Melissa CampanelliSenior Editormelissa@dmnews.com
The U.S. Postal Service presented to the public and Congress last week a plan that explains the process changes and technology applications that the agency thinks are needed to enhance the safety of postal employees and customers. The emergency preparedness plan was devised after President Bush signed into law a $318 billion defense appropriations bill this year that included $500 million for the USPS to screen and sanitize the nation's mail. The money going to the USPS would pay for additional security measures, not to help the agency make up for lost revenue from lower mail volume since the Sept. 11 attacks. The bill covers appropriations through Sept. 30, 2002. Postal officials were required to send a report to Congress to detail how they would spend the $500 million. The report explained that the postal service's plan is based on an assessment by the Postal Inspection Service, which found that the "inappropriate use of the mail is a continuing threat. ... Potentially, the mail can be used to transmit a variety of threatening materials, including biohazards." As a result, the plan said that the USPS is emphasizing prevention, detection and risk reduction at the earliest point feasible in its distribution network.
dmnews.com
A new Cepheid system, GeneXpert®, intended for use in monitoring for anthrax in post offices, can also be applied to other pathogens whose DNA sequence is known. Cepheid offers small fluidic cartridges with copies of the ends of pX01 and pX02 sequences (the X and Y'), nucleic acid building blocks, and the polymerase enzyme. The sample (of anthrax spores, for example) is introduced, broken down to free its DNA, and mixed with the reagents. It moves into SmartCycler® for rapid heating and cooling, then returns to the cartridge for the next iteration. After complete amplification, it increases the temperature to "melt" the segments—unwind the helix—and records the fluorescence for identification.
aoac.org
ETG DD
Cepheid Licenses Technology to ETG for Development of Handheld Bioagent Detection Systems.
Cepheid Retains Rights to Commercialize Systems in Other Markets
Under the agreement, the companies will develop and design bio-detection systems based on Cepheid’s proprietary technologies for the capture, purification, amplification and detection of DNA. Cepheid will provide sub-systems and sub-assemblies to ETG for integration into, and manufacture of, fully automated bio-detection systems that will range from hand-held units to stationary monitoring systems for use in a variety of military and civilian settings. Cepheid’s I-CORE® and microfluidic technologies will be key components of the DNA detection systems that will be manufactured and marketed on a worldwide basis by ETG and its sister company Graseby Dynamics Limited under royalty-bearing licenses from Cepheid. Financial and other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
cepheid.com
ETG expects to offer an improved version of the HANAA
(the HANAA2) for sale to first responders by March 2002.
coffee.phys.unm.edu
BIDS UNIT Picture
sbccom.apgea.army.mil
ETG envtech.com
BIDS system reference from ETG site
envtech.com
ETG a subsidiary of Smith’s Aerospace
smiths-group.com
Graseby Dynamics Limited
grasebydynamics.com |
