PerkinElmer Showcases Advanced Cellular Science Research and Drug Discovery Technologies at SBS 2007

PerkinElmer, Inc., a global leader in Health Sciences and Photonics, showcased its advanced cellular science research and drug discovery products at the 2007 Society for Biomolecular Science (SBS) 13th Annual Meeting, April 15-19, in Montreal, Canada.

The newly enhanced technology offerings focus on powerful cell-based screening and high content analysis platforms. A cell-based approach to screening offers researchers greater insight into the complex mechanisms of the cell, providing higher-value content and more clinically relevant data for drug discovery.

"Research and pharmaceutical laboratories require advanced cell-based screening and analysis technologies in order to understand complex disease mechanisms, as well as to develop the next generation of critical drugs and therapies," said Robert F. Friel, president of PerkinElmer Life and Analytical Sciences. "With our deep expertise in the fundamental processes of drug discovery and cellular research, PerkinElmer has now assembled the most comprehensive and integrated portfolio of leading-edge technologies in advanced cellular science, including proven high throughput, and high content screening and analysis instruments and reagents."

The pharmaceutical industry estimates that 50 percent of high throughput compound screening for drug discovery involves screening targets expressed in cells. Cell-based assays are utilized for both primary and secondary screening.

New from PerkinElmer

As a result of recent strategic acquisitions and dedicated product development, PerkinElmer has significantly expanded its technology offering in the advanced cellular sciences, debuting several new technologies at SBS 2007, including:

Reagents:

• Euroscreen Products--AqueoScreen™ platform--A functional, homogenous, generic, aequorin-based (jellyfish luminescence) platform for detection of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) activation.
• LANCE Ultra™ technology--A new, improved, homogenous Time Resolve Fluoresence (TRF) platform for Time Resolve-Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (TR-FRET) assays enabling higher sensitivity, speed, and productivity in PerkinElmer's high throughput screening assay platform. PerkinElmer introduced nine new kits for kinase assays.
• steadylite™ plus and britelite™ plus--These firefly luciferase reporter gene assay kits deliver industry-leading speed and sensitivity with new conveniently refrigerated and odor-free formulations.
• AlphaLISA™ technology--A highly sensitive, homogenous alternative to Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISA), this exclusive assay platform offers a wide dynamic range and easy automation.

Instruments:

• JANUS^® Project Manager Software--This new applications package harnesses the power of JANUS WinPREP^® software and provides seamless integration, method development and application scheduling for the JANUS Automated Workstation with a variety of peripheral instruments. JANUS Project Manager also coordinates time-critical application events for ELISA, cell-based assays, binding applications, and enzyme measurement studies.
• 1536 Head LumiLux™ Cellular Screening Platform--This new detection platform for high throughput screening (HTS) and ultra-high throughput screening (uHTS) kinetic flash and glow luminescent cellular assays offers a 1536 miniaturized format and "inject and read" automation capability to significantly increase productivity and improve cost efficiencies.
• EnVision™ TRF Laser--This compact nitrogen laser module for the flexible EnVision Multilabel Plate Reader provides considerably improved performance for homogeneous TRF assays when compared to flash light excitation detection systems.
• Evotec Technologies--cell::explorer™ High Content Screening (HCS) Workstation--The cell::explorer offers a fully integrated, ready-to-run automation solution that enables you to take maximum advantage of the powerful Opera™ HCS platform. The system is designed to grow as your needs grow and the basic module supports a wide range of screening applications, including general compound and siRNA screening.
• Evotec Technologies--Opera™ HCS system and Acapella™ software--The Opera platform, coupled with powerful Acapella™ 3D imaging and analysis software, is an industry-leading tool for high content analysis that combines the precision of confocal microscopy with the throughput required for primary and secondary screening.

Advancing Cellular Science and Drug Discovery Workshop

PerkinElmer's comprehensive suite of advanced cellular science research technologies were featured at an interactive symposium on Sunday, April 15, 2007. Distinguished cellular scientists and industry experts examined current and future trends in cellular science and its impact on drug discovery. Highlights included presentations on novel and innovative applications for cell-based HTS and new solutions to accelerate drug discovery research. Patrick M. Sexton, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology, Monash University in Australia, and a world leader in understanding Family B GPCR function and the pharmacology of Receptor Activity Modifying Protein (RAMP)-based receptors, was the guest speaker for this session which demonstrated the latest in high throughput approaches to cell-based GPCR and kinase assays and biomarker analysis.