BioTox NewsBioTox Sciences Attends the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting
BioTox Sciences Attends the Society of Toxicology: Annual Meeting and Tox Expo
BioTox Sciences FDA Audit News
Date: July 06, 2011 09:00 ET
Apricus Biosciences Sells Bio-Quant CRO Subsidiary to BioTox Sciences
SAN DIEGO, July 6, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apricus Biosciences, Inc. ("Apricus Bio") (Nasdaq:APRI) announced today that it has sold its wholly-owned subsidiary, Bio-Quant, Inc. ("Bio-Quant"), a specialty biotechnology Contract Research Organization ("CRO"), to BioTox Sciences ("BioTox"), a San Diego-based CRO. Under terms of the agreement, Apricus Bio will receive a minimum of $5 million in up-front and future earn-out payments, with the potential for as much as $20 million over the next ten years, based on BioTox's currently projected revenues. Additionally, Apricus Bio has retained all NexMed-related research conducted by Bio-Quant as well as the profitable Bio-Quant diagnostic kit business.
"While our Bio-Quant subsidiary has been driving revenues over the past year, this divesture represents a key strategic decision for Apricus Bio, as licensing revenues from Vitaros® have increased during the first half of 2011, and are currently projected to constitute the majority of our revenue stream for the remainder of 2011," stated Dr. Bassam Damaj, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company. "The sale enables us to focus our efforts where we believe we will generate the greatest return on investment -- speeding our specialty biopharmaceutical drugs to market. While Bio-Quant has been instrumental in advancing the uses of our NexACT® technology and preclinical pipeline, we have now entered the commercialization stage with our first product and intend to focus our efforts on the generation of revenues from our drug pipeline," continued Dr. Damaj.
Apricus Bio's top priority is to commercialize Vitaros®, for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Vitaros® was approved for marketing and sales in Canada in 2010, and the Company recently filed for approval in Europe. Management is in advanced partnering negotiations for Vitaros® in Canada and/or Europe and expects to announce a partnership in the second half of 2011. In addition, Apricus Bio is focused on developing and commercializing the other 12 products and product candidates in its pipeline, including Femprox®, MycoVa™ and PrevOnco™.
Bio-Quant, founded in 2001, is one of San Diego's most experienced CROs for non-GLP (good laboratory practices) contract drug discovery and pre-clinical development services, specializing in oncology, inflammation, immunology and metabolic diseases. Bio-Quant has clients world-wide. Revenues are generated from pre-clinical contract services and housing services.
During 2010, the Bio-Quant CRO business helped advance Apricus Bio's proprietary NexACT® technology and increase its product and product candidate portfolio from four products to 13. With the divestiture of Bio-Quant, Apricus Bio has decided to outsource its primary preclinical CRO work for its NexMed subsidiary and narrow its focus on commercializing its late stage products -- Vitaros® for erectile dysfunction, Femprox® for female sexual arousal disorder, MycoVa™ for nail fungus, PrevOnco™ for liver cancer and RayVa™ for Reynaud's Syndrome -- in addition to continuing to develop the eight other, earlier stage product candidates in its pipeline.
BioTox is a San Diego CRO founded in 2007 that focuses primarily on GLP studies and has been interested in expanding its operations in San Diego on the non-GLP side.
"We look forward to seeing BioTox achieve even greater success, which will result in greater earn-out payments for Apricus Bio," said Dr. Damaj.
"We were actively looking for opportunities to expand our footprint in the Discovery CRO area and add more In-Vitro and In-Vivo disease models to increase the range of services we currently offer to our clients," stated BioTox's President, Sami Abunadi, in a company statement. "Bio-Quant offers a long and successful history in non-GLP preclinical research in areas such as oncology, inflammation, immunology, metabolic diseases and high throughput screening capabilities. We believe that this transaction will not only be revenue and earnings enhancing and highly valuable to our shareholders, but will also provide both a superior and quicker entry point than the other build or buy options we considered," said Mr. Abunadi.
In addition to adding key services and becoming a major participant in Southern California, BioTox can now scale its operation and reach to become a true national and global presence. BioTox intends to build on its present IND and NDA enabling In-Vivo GLP toxicology offerings, and as such, expects to be able to offer both Bio-Quant's and BioTox's clients a more attractive strategic outsourcing alliance with proven economic and scientific depth.
"We can now take our clients' compounds through the preclinical drug development process and utilize state-of-the-art capabilities by integrating Bio-Quant's study execution software platform Intranet with BioTox's Sponsor friendly and GLP compliant study Data Acquisition Software, called iAdavantage, and thus accelerate the development process economically and effectively" Mr. Abunadi added.
About Apricus Biosciences, Inc.
Apricus Bio, a San Diego based revenue-generating specialty biopharmaceutical company, has leveraged the flexibility of its clinically-validated NexACT® drug delivery technology to enable multi-route administration of new and improved compounds across numerous therapeutic classes.
Revenues and growth are driven from out-licensing of this technology for the development and commercialization of such compounds to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide. In addition, the Company is seeking to monetize its existing product pipeline, including its first product, Vitaros®, approved in Canada for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, which is currently expected to be available on the Canadian market in 2011, as well as compounds in development from pre-clinical through Phase III, currently focused on Sexual Dysfunction, Oncology, Dermatology, Autoimmune, Pain, Anti-Infectives, Diabetes and Cosmeceuticals among others.
For further information on Apricus Bio, visit http://www.apricusbio.com, and for information on its subsidiaries please visit http://www.nexmedusa.com or http://www.bio-quant.com. You can also receive information at http://twitter.com/apricusbio and http://facebook.com/apricusbio.
About BioTox Sciences
BioTox Sciences, based in San Diego, is a Contract Research Organization (CRO) offering comprehensive services for nonclinical and preclinical studies (GLP and Non-GLP) utilizing state of the art vivarium(s). Its services encompass toxicology, pharmacology, metabolism testing and various disease models in support of nonclinical drug development. URL: http://www.biotoxsciences.com
Apricus Bio's Forward-Looking Statement Safe Harbor
Statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, as amended: with the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that may individually or mutually impact the matters herein described for a variety of reasons that are outside the control of the Company, including, but not limited to, its ability to receive the earnout payments from the sale of its Bio-Quant CRO business to BioTox Sciences, further development products and product candidates, have such products and product candidates approved by relevant regulatory authorities, to successfully commercialize its Vitaros®, Femprox®, MycoVa™, PrevOnco™ and RayVa™ products and other products and product candidates and to achieve its other development, commercialization and financial goals such as its revenue projections from the sale of its products. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein. Readers are urged to read the risk factors set forth in the Company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K, subsequent quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q and other filings made with the SEC. Copies of these reports are available from the SEC's website or without charge from the Company.
CONTACT:
BioTox Sciences
Sami Abunadi, President
info@biotoxsciences.com
BioTox Sciences (BTS) Deploys eStudy™ Hosted Solution for Management of GLP & Non-GLP Preclinical Studies
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110309/CL62195LOGO )
In 2010, BioTox Sciences expanded its resources from people to facility to accommodate growing Sponsors' needs. The final challenge was selecting a software platform that would handle the different preclinical study types BTS conduct's today, yet flexible enough to meet the ever-changing needs they may encounter as they continue to grow.
"After weighing our options and careful due diligence, BioTox Sciences chose to implement eStudy, by iAdvantage Software," commented Tareq Abu-Nadi, BioTox Sciences, Business Development/Study Director. "eStudy will complement and streamline the study processes conducted at BTS by increasing productivity and speed of reporting while maintaining 21 CFR parts 58 and 11 compliance."
"eStudy's flexibility ensures that BTS Study Directors would be able to use eStudy on various projects and multiple species. Whether a typical 28 day toxicity study in rats or dogs, or a long term surgery study in NHPs, eStudy will be used to manage the study, capture the data and allow for on-demand reporting of results upon Sponsor request. This significant investment gives us the ability to produce complete study books in mere hours, and help Sponsors make key decisions on development of compounds and initiate more projects," concluded Abu-Nadi.
eStudy is a 100% web-based study management platform that iAdvantage Software hosts for BTS at Cegidem/Dendrite's world-class network operating center in Chesapeake, VA. "eStudy will continually grow with BioTox Sciences, easily adapt to new study-types, marry to BTS' operational work-flow and interface with 3rd party instruments and tools," stated Diana Michelotti, Director of Marketing and Sales for iAdvantage. "eStudy implemented for BTS, provides BTS with a custom fit solution without the start-from-scratch price."
About iAdvantage Software
iAdvantage is dedicated to empowering scientists and management in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology arenas with efficient, web-based electronic study management and reporting tools that automate cumbersome tasks and optimize time to results thereby improving productivity, real-time business intelligence and time to market.
iAdvantage products include eStudy™, a truly web-based enterprise solution for study design, eNotebook design, collection of data from multiple sources, multiple users and multiple locations, integration of data in real-time to a secure storage device, maintaining data integrity (complying with 21 CFR Parts 58 and 11) with the flexibility of on-demand access, data analysis and reporting that is user-defined and user-controlled. iAdvantage places control in the hands of the scientist and not at the mercy of rigid study management systems.
iAdvantage is headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, near the life science and biotech hub of Research Triangle Park. More than 140 life science companies in North America and Europe use iAdvantage products in their research and development. Please visit www.iadvantagesoftware.com for more information.
About BioTox Sciences
BioTox Sciences, San Diego, CA, is a leading Contract Research Organization (CRO) offering comprehensive services for nonclinical and preclinical studies operates a state of the art 20,000 sqf AAALAC accredited vivarium. BioTox Sciences services encompass toxicology, pharmacology, metabolism, disease models, surgery models, behavior and safety testing, PK/PD and other customized testing in support of nonclinical drug development for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. Visit www.biotoxsciences.com/ for more information.
| Inquires: | |
| Diana Michelotti | |
| Director of Marketing and Sales | |
| iAdvantage Software, Inc. - 919-469-3888 ext. 121 | |
| dmichelotti@iadvantagesoftware.com | |
| Tareq Abu-Nadi | |
| Business Development/Study Director | |
| BioTox Sciences - 858-605-5882 ext. 302 | |
| tabunadi@biotoxsciences.com |
BioTox Sciences Attends the American College of Toxicology Annual Meeting
Bio BioTox Sciences Attends the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientist Annual Meeting and Exposition
BioTox Sciences Attends the Drug Delivery and Formulation America Summit
BioTox Sciences Attends the Society of Toxicology: Annual Meeting and Toxicology Expo
BioTox Sciences Attends the American College of Toxicology Annual Meeting
BioTox Sciences Attends the International Society for Stem Cell Research Annual Meeting
BioTox Sciences Attends the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientist Annual Meeting and Exposition
HMGB1 Studies in wound healing. SOURCE: Bio-Quant, Inc. HMGB1 Studies in wound healing.
BIO-QUANT credited in XOMA POSTER.
BIO-QUANT credited in TRIUS POSTER.
BIO-QUANT announces the expansion of its research animal diagnostic services to cover all nine species.
SAN DIEGO, CA, September, 2008 --Bio-Quant Inc ("Bio-Quant") the largest biotech Contract Research Organization (CRO) in San Diego, announced today the expansion of its animal diagnostic services division to cover all nine species used in research.
Dr. Bassam Damaj, Chief Executive Officer of Bio-Quant, said, "Animal welfare is of great importance, and Bio-Quant is very pleased to announce the expansion of its Research Animal Diagnostic Services. Bio-Quant is the only local facility providing this high quality service to the San Diego community, and we will continue to grow our capabilities in this area to support our client's needs. This marks the completion of our planned expansion program that we have been implementing over the last couple of years"
He added, "Our laboratory covers comprehensive clinical chemistry, hematology, coagulation, blood gas analysis, urine analysis for all nine species. The advanced equipments used at Bio-Quant allows the analysis of full CBC with only 15uL of blood as opposed to the 100uL required by most laboratories allowing researchers to run multiple CBCs during their experimental studies without affecting the health status of the animals."
Other specialty services are also provided worldwide by Bio-Quant such as Elisa, FACS analysis, protein electrophoresis, and gel electrophoresis as well as in vitro cellular functional assays.
About Bio-Quant, Inc.
Bio-Quant, Inc. is a profitable revenue-generating biotechnology pre-clinical contract research organization specializing in in vitro and in vivo pharmacology, PK and toxicology to support non-GLP pre-IND enabling studies in addition to vivarium housing services. The company is based in San Diego, California with 20,000 sq ft office and laboratory facilities. The company specializes in pre-clinical work in the areas of Inflammation, Oncology, and Immunology, PK and toxicology services.
More information is available at : www.bio-quant.com
ImmuneRegen® BioSciences Confirms Homspera® Advances Wound Healing in Topical Application
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ImmuneRegen® BioSciences, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of IR BioSciences Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: IRBS - News), today announced that in a controlled study performed on Yorkshire pigs, its wound-healing drug candidate, Homspera®, has accelerated the healing process of deep, dermal excisions. ImmuneRegen performed the in vivo study with Bio-Quant, Inc., a biotechnology development company that also provides contracted preclinical research services. The study results add to the body of evidence of Homspera's ability to stimulate wound healing and further support the potential application of Homspera in diverse areas such as thermal and chemical burns, battlefield trauma, and wounds such as diabetic and pressure ulcers, as well as surgical and traumatic wounds.
Bio-Quant performed the 24-day study on Yorkshire pigs, which have similar skin and wound-healing mechanisms as humans and are thus a preferred model for wound-healing studies. Four sets of four wounds on each of two pigs were treated with different concentrations of Homspera and compared with a four-wound control set. Homspera's healing effect was pronounced on both the size of the wound and its rate of closure. The excisions were made through the full thickness of the dermal layers, and then topically treated with Homspera. Homspera stimulated the deposition of collagen, which is the main protein in the body's connective tissue, by increasing the accumulation of fibroblasts, the cells that produce collagen. Homspera reduced wound size an average of 21 percent over the control at Day 10, 27 percent at Day 14, and 36 percent at Day 21. Additional research, studies and testing of Homspera will be required to satisfy FDA and other applicable laws and regulations before any conclusions can be made about the use of Homspera for future product development or for human therapeutic treatment.
"Homspera reduces the wound area of full-thickness excisional wounds, likely by increasing fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis and deposition throughout the proliferative and remodeling stages of wound repair," explained Hal Siegel, Ph.D., ImmuneRegen VP and chief scientific officer. "In fact, Homspera may accelerate all phases of wound closure, perhaps stimulating the earliest stages via the hematopoietic stem cell activity previously described."
Said Michael K. Wilhelm, ImmuneRegen president and CEO, "From the results of our various studies, Homspera continues to show remarkable versatility as a stand-alone therapeutic. We are developing a number of formulations for non-military and military uses, such as the spray-on application we are exploring with BioCure, Inc. and the topical gel application we are exploring with DelSite, that we believe will strengthen our position for out-licensing and/or expedited product development for Homspera."
About Bio-Quant, Inc.
Bio-Quant, Inc. is a revenue-generating biotechnology company located in San Diego , Calif. , focused on developing proprietary biopharmaceutical drug candidates in the areas of oncology, and microbial and immunological diseases, as well as providing contract preclinical development and drug discovery services to other biopharmaceutical companies. Bio-Quant has several compounds in various stages of preclinical development, as well as relationships with several major biopharmaceutical companies for its services business. Bio-Quant applies its expertise in immunology and oncology toward developing biopharmaceuticals to fight diseases such as brain and colon cancers, lymphoma, leukemia, vitiligo and cirrhosis. For more information, please visit www.bio-quant.com.
About ImmuneRegen BioSciences, Inc.
a wholly owned subsidiary of IR BioSciences Holdings, Inc., (OTC BB:IRBS.OB - News) is a development-stage biotechnology company focused on the research, development and licensing of Homspera® and its derivatives. Homspera is an adult stem cell active compound that in study results has been shown to regenerate and strengthen the immune system and enhance wound healing. Viprovex®, a derivative of Homspera, is being developed for potential use against infectious diseases as a stand-alone or combination therapy and as a vaccine adjuvant. To advance its mission, the Scottsdale , Arizona based company has forged numerous study partnerships with industry and academic leaders, including Celgene Cellular Therapeutics, HemoGenix, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute and Virion Systems. For more information, please visit www.immuneregen.com.
Statements about ImmuneRegen's future expectations, including statements about the potential use and scientific results for ImmuneRegen's drug candidates, science and technology, and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. ImmuneRegen intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. These future events may not occur as and when expected, if at all, and, together with ImmuneRegen's business, are subject to various risks and uncertainties. ImmuneRegen's actual results could differ materially from expected results as a result of a number of factors, including the uncertainties inherent in research and development collaborations, pre-clinical and clinical trials and product development programs (including, but not limited to the fact that future results or research and development efforts may prove less encouraging than current results or cause side effects not observed in current pre-clinical trials), the evaluation of potential opportunities, the level of corporate expenditures and monies available for further studies, capital market conditions, and others set forth in ImmuneRegen's periodic report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended June 30, 2008 and on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2007 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There are no guarantees that any of ImmuneRegen's proposed products will prove to be commercially successful. ImmuneRegen undertakes no duty to update forward-looking statements.
DOMPE and Bio-Quant form new drug discovery collaboration.
MILAN, Italy & SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 10, 2001-- Dompe, S.p.a. and Bio-Quant, Inc. today announced the formation of a new multi-target research collaboration involving four chemokine receptors related to inflammatory and immunological diseases, such as atherosclerosis, glomerulonephritis, asthma, and allergy.
In collaboration with Dompe, Bio-Quant will use its proprietary G Protein Coupled Receptors' (GPCR) functional high throughput screening (HTS) technologies to identify and validate small molecule drug candidates for the agreed upon targets.
Under the terms of the agreement, Dompe will provide Bio-Quant with an initial up-front payment and monthly research funding thereafter.
``By combining Dompe's chemokine programs with Bio-Quant's capabilities and expertise, this new collaboration adds a different, yet highly complementary expertise to our in-house capabilities in the drug discovery and lead validation programs and allows us to manage complex and multiple targets,'' said Dr. Sergio Dompe, chief executive officer of Dompe. ``We are aggressively expanding our research programs in immunological and inflammatory diseases, and this alliance will advance our discovery and productivity activities in this area.''
Commenting on their first european pharmaceutical agreement for Bio-Quant, Bassam B. Damaj, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer, said, ``This collaboration with Dompe is significant for several reasons. It is our first collaboration with a European pharmaceutical company, thus establishing the validation necessary for our technology and marking an entry point for us in the European market. We believe our knowledge and breadth of discovery tools, including functional screening capabilities, imaging analysis devices (Sci Imager, BioReader and ChemoReader) and state of the art high throughput screening, provides us with an advantage in small molecule drug discovery, and Dompe's alliance supports our belief.''
Additionally, Dr. Damaj continued, ``We are confident that this combination will shorten the development time of potential drugs against these challenging and medically important disease targets; we look forward to a productive and continued relationship with Dompe.''
About Dompe Spa
Based in Milan, Italy, Dompe is one of Europe's most integrated and innovative pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Traditionally established in the areas of anti-inflammatory and respiratory pharmaceuticals, Dompe has since expanded its research into biotechnology and, in particular, in antibody-based immunotherapeutic products. For more information, visit Dompe's web site at www.Dompe.it
About Bio-Quant, Inc.
Bio-Quant is engaged in novel and proprietary types of GPCR drug discovery platforms including, chemotaxis and multiplex screening technologies, fluorescent probes, and instrumentations (Sci Imager, BioReader and ChemoReader) for High Throughput Screening and proteomics. Bio-Quant's imaging technology and molecular drug discovery tools provides the pharmaceutical and drug development industry with faster ways and less expensive tools to develop drugs. In addition, the Company has novel types of disease diagnosis called ``Multiplex Technologies'' that permits the simultaneous detection of multiple diseases at the same time and from the same sample in blood, urine and tissues. For more information, visit Bio-Quant's web site at www.bio-quant.com.
When used anywhere in this document, the words "expects", "believes", "anticipates", "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements herein may include statements addressing future financial and operating results of Bio-Quant and the timing, benefits and other aspects of the proposed merger. Bio-Quant has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations about future events. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the successful implementation of Bio-Quant's strategic plans, the acceptance of new products, the obsolescence of existing products, the resolution of existing and potential future patent issues. These risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from results expressed or implied by forward- looking statements contained in this document. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this document. Bio-Quant disclaims any undertaking to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Bio-Quant and TEF LABS sign agreement to jointly develop novel fluorescent dyes for use in high Throughput Screening.
SAN DIEGO & AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2001--Bio-Quant, Inc., a developer of advanced multiplex detection systems, and TEF Labs, a fluorescent probe company, announced today that they have entered into an agreement to jointly develop novel dyes for use in assays and tools for High Throughput Screening (HTS).
HTS is one of several tools pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies employ to find leads for drug candidates or to conduct basic biological research. Scientists screen biological samples, using HTS, to identify compounds worth pursuing as drug candidates.
Under the agreement, Bio-Quant and TEF Labs will develop the dyes using TEF Labs' proprietary chemistry, which will be applied to Bio-Quant's proprietary Fluorescence Infrared Bioluminescence Reader (FLIBR) and ChemoReader devices. FLIBR is a video image plate reader designed to read absorbance, luminescence, fluorescence and infrared, and is capable of detecting very low optical levels rom virtually any fluorescent dye available; ChemoReader is an imaging device designed to read our proprietary lateral 96 well HTS chemotaxis assay.
TEF Labs' proprietary chemistry will allow the development of the first visible wavelength ratiometric calcium indicator for use in High Throughput Screening (HTS) cellular signaling assays. Leakage resistance and membrane versions of the new dyes will significantly enhance flexibility in High Throughput Screening assay design and eliminate the need to wash the cells after their loading with the dye.
HTS enables scientists to rapidly assay thousands of compounds in search of biological activity for drug discovery. The drug discovery process begins with the identification of biological molecules that are involved in disease (disease targets) and the synthesis of chemical compounds (drug candidates), which may be able to act on these targets.
Dr. Bassam Damaj, president and chief executive officer of Bio-Quant, said, ``The FLIBR instrument is the ultimate machine for high throughput screening. Bio-Quant is committed to the field of High Throughput Screening and to adding value to its technology platform. This joint development effort with TEF Labs is an excellent example of this approach in an important drug discovery area with a large market potential. We are confident we can build on TEF Labs' innovation with our own imaging technology.''
The advanced multiplex technologies being developed by Bio-Quant are designed to facilitate simultaneous detection and quantification of several markers of a disease, allowing physicians to assess the presence and progression of the disease.
About Bio-Quant, Inc.
Bio-Quant, Inc. a leader in the multiplex detection systems and devices for High Throughput screening. Its proprietary cutting-edge Multiplex Detection Technology gives the ability to test both qualitatively and quantitatively more than one disease marker at the same time in either blood or tissue samples. Its new FLIBR imaging technology and molecular drug discovery tools provides the pharmaceutical and drug development industry with faster ways and less expensive tools to develop drugs. For more information, visit Bio-Quant's web site at : www.bio-quant.com.
About TEF Labs
TEF Labs is a fluorescent probes developer with a specialty in ion indicators for cell signaling. Products include probes for calcium, sodium, pH. The founder and CEO, Dr. Akwazi Minta is a co-inventor with Dr. Roger Tsien of such probes as Fluo-3, Rhod-2, and SBFI and a pioneer in the filed of fluorescent probes chemistry -- TEF Labs is a leader in the market of fluorescent ion indicators. www.TEFLabs.com
This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding Bio-Quant Inc. Actual results may differ materially from those described in the press release as a result of a number of factors, including but not limited to the following: There can be no assurance that any product in the Bio-Quant product pipeline will be successfully developed or manufactured. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.
Bio-Quant and TEF LABS sign agreement to jointly develop novel fluorescent dyes for use in high Throughput Screening.
SAN DIEGO & AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2001--Bio-Quant, Inc., a developer of advanced multiplex detection systems, and TEF Labs, a fluorescent probe company, announced today that they have entered into an agreement to jointly develop novel dyes for use in assays and tools for High Throughput Screening (HTS).
HTS is one of several tools pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies employ to find leads for drug candidates or to conduct basic biological research. Scientists screen biological samples, using HTS, to identify compounds worth pursuing as drug candidates.
Under the agreement, Bio-Quant and TEF Labs will develop the dyes using TEF Labs' proprietary chemistry, which will be applied to Bio-Quant's proprietary Fluorescence Infrared Bioluminescence Reader (FLIBR) and ChemoReader devices. FLIBR is a video image plate reader designed to read absorbance, luminescence, fluorescence and infrared, and is capable of detecting very low optical levels rom virtually any fluorescent dye available; ChemoReader is an imaging device designed to read our proprietary lateral 96 well HTS chemotaxis assay.
TEF Labs' proprietary chemistry will allow the development of the first visible wavelength ratiometric calcium indicator for use in High Throughput Screening (HTS) cellular signaling assays. Leakage resistance and membrane versions of the new dyes will significantly enhance flexibility in High Throughput Screening assay design and eliminate the need to wash the cells after their loading with the dye.
HTS enables scientists to rapidly assay thousands of compounds in search of biological activity for drug discovery. The drug discovery process begins with the identification of biological molecules that are involved in disease (disease targets) and the synthesis of chemical compounds (drug candidates), which may be able to act on these targets.
Dr. Bassam Damaj, president and chief executive officer of Bio-Quant, said, ``The FLIBR instrument is the ultimate machine for high throughput screening. Bio-Quant is committed to the field of High Throughput Screening and to adding value to its technology platform. This joint development effort with TEF Labs is an excellent example of this approach in an important drug discovery area with a large market potential. We are confident we can build on TEF Labs' innovation with our own imaging technology.''
The advanced multiplex technologies being developed by Bio-Quant are designed to facilitate simultaneous detection and quantification of several markers of a disease, allowing physicians to assess the presence and progression of the disease.
About Bio-Quant, Inc.
Bio-Quant, Inc. a leader in the multiplex detection systems and devices for High Throughput screening. Its proprietary cutting-edge Multiplex Detection Technology gives the ability to test both qualitatively and quantitatively more than one disease marker at the same time in either blood or tissue samples. Its new FLIBR imaging technology and molecular drug discovery tools provides the pharmaceutical and drug development industry with faster ways and less expensive tools to develop drugs. For more information, visit Bio-Quant's web site at : www.bio-quant.com.
About TEF Labs
TEF Labs is a fluorescent probes developer with a specialty in ion indicators for cell signaling. Products include probes for calcium, sodium, pH. The founder and CEO, Dr. Akwazi Minta is a co-inventor with Dr. Roger Tsien of such probes as Fluo-3, Rhod-2, and SBFI and a pioneer in the filed of fluorescent probes chemistry -- TEF Labs is a leader in the market of fluorescent ion indicators. www.TEFLabs.com
This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding Bio-Quant Inc. Actual results may differ materially from those described in the press release as a result of a number of factors, including but not limited to the following: There can be no assurance that any product in the Bio-Quant product pipeline will be successfully developed or manufactured. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.
Bio-Quant Creates new GPCR Screening division.
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 5, 2001 --Bio-Quant, Inc., an emerging worldwide leader in Multiplex Detection Systems, today announced the formation of a new strategic internal business unit for providing new procedures, products and services to accelerate high throughput screening and proteomics for G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs), which function as delivery mechanisms for drug transport in the human body to fight diseases.
More than 50% of current drugs on the market attach themselves to GPCRs. Bio-Quant's new division will utilize fully integrated technology that reduces the cost and time of GPCR screening, enabling faster time to market for new drug remedies.
Dr. Bassam Damaj, president and CEO, stated, "There is a tremendous need for new chemical entities to modulate GPCRs given the wealth of information generated from genomics discoveries. Our new GPCR division positions Bio-Quant to greatly benefit from the increasing demand for new assays, reagents, and instrumentations to discover new drugs therapies by developing cost and time effective tools, facilitating a more expedient discovery of new chemical compounds for GPCRs."
Bio-Quant's new division offers fully integrated functional platforms that cover two main readouts for GPCR drug targets; Chemotaxis (cell motility) and Intracellular Calcium Mobilization Measurement (cell activation). The Chemotaxis platform includes new leakage resistant fluorescent dyes (ChemoDye), new lateral chemotaxis assay in 96 microplate format (ChemoScreen) and a new imaging device (ChemoReader) with liquid handling capabilities. The Intracellular Calcium Mobilization Measurement platform includes new leakage resistant and visible light fluorescent dyes (CalciDye), and a new multifunctional multi-size microplate imaging device (FLIBR: Fluorescent Infrared Bioluminescence Reader) with one liquid handling system that can dispense into 96, 384, and 1536 microplates.
Dr. Damaj added, "These two platforms for drug discovery will allow biotechnology/pharmaceutical companies to screen their compound libraries much faster and cheaper, enabling them to get to market much sooner."
About Bio-Quant, Inc.
Bio-Quant, Inc. is a leader in the multiplex detection systems and devices for High Throughput screening. Its proprietary, cutting-edge Multiplex Detection Technology gives the ability to test both qualitatively and quantitatively more than one disease marker at the same time in either blood or tissue samples. Its new FLIBR imaging technology and molecular drug discovery tools provide the pharmaceutical and drug development industry with faster ways and less expensive tools to develop drugs. For more information, visit Bio-Quant's web site at : www.bio-quant.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding Bio-Quant Inc. Actual results may differ materially from those described in the press release as a result of a number of factors, including but not limited to the following: There can be no assurance that any product in the Bio-Quant product pipeline will be successfully developed or manufactured. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.
