Endress+Hauser looking at Indian affiliates
Endress+Hauser India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of the Swiss based Endress+Hauser Group, a global player in the field of measurement instrumentation and automation solutions for industrial process plants is eagerly looking at biotechnology industry as one of the key areas to expand its market in India.
Hariprasad Manavalan, industry manager – Pharma & Biotech, Endress+Hauser India Pvt Ltd, said, "We are now focusing on technologies and compliance related to biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Headquartered in Mumbai, we have six regional sales offices spread across India to meet the requirements of Indian customers."
Endress+Hauser which has implemented instrumentation solutions for projects undertaken by Sartorius, Millipore, Alfa Laval and other original equipment manufacturers in India, already has couple of biotech companies like Biocon Ltd, Shreya Biotech, Shantha Biotech on its list of customers.
Having a Corporate Validation Master Plan (according to GAMP IV), it has GXP regulated production centers worldwide. Endress + Hauser has association with regulatory and standards organizations such as FDA, USP, ISPE, ASME - BPE, PAT Committee. It is now looking at Indian affiliates.
DPC, Thermo to co-develop clinical chemistry platform
Diagnostics Products Corporation and Thermo Electron Corporation have announced that they have entered into an agreement for co-development of a new, high throughput clinical chemistry platform. This platform will integrate with DPC's future immunochemistry platforms, and will be ideally suited for medium and large volume laboratories both in the hospital and private laboratory segments. The combination of DPC's broad experience in immunochemistry with Thermo's clinical chemistry and automation expertise will provide clinical laboratories with a comprehensive diagnostic test solution that will automate most of their routine testing needs.
"This new development agreement extends the current relationship between Thermo and DPC to a new level," said Lew Rosenblum, president of clinical diagnostics at Thermo. "The existing distribution agreements, which were put in place in 2004 and cover Thermo's current clinical chemistry and automation products, have already generated excellent results in many European markets," he added.
The new system will be distributed exclusively by DPC worldwide except in selected European countries where Thermo will also continue to sell its clinical chemistry and automation products.
Pall products play key role in study on cord blood
As cord blood increasingly takes front and center stage as a critical source of stem cells for transplants, it has driven the need for consistent quality standards to ensure the safety and efficacy of this life-saving therapy. The newly published results of the landmark COBLT (Cord Blood Transplantation) Study advance standards for cord blood collection, processing and cryopreservation. Along with defining standard operating procedures, Pall Corporation products were the only sets used in the study for the collection, processing and cryopreservation of stem cells from umbilical cord blood.
Pall's cord blood sets for collection, processing and cryopreservation are used by the New York Blood Center's (NYBC) National Cord Blood Program, the world's oldest and largest public cord blood bank. Under an investigational protocol and IND filed with the US Food and Drug Administration, NYBC makes cord blood available to physicians treating children and adults faced with a life-threatening illness who need a stem cell transplant from an unrelated donor. Pall's sets are also used by the booming private cord blood banking industry, where pregnant women can arrange to store their own newborn's cord blood in case a family member ever needs it.
In addition to providing tools that enable cord blood banking, Pall Corporation is actively involved in applying and adapting its extensive proprietary systems technology portfolio and expertise in blood filtration and separation to the broader field of regenerative medicine, including cell harvesting and purification, adoptive immunotherapies and cytokine production.
Applied Biosystems launches drug metabolism assays
A preliminary version of Applied Biosystems' TaqMan* Drug Metabolism
Genotyping Assays for detection and study of polymorphisms in the drug metabolism pathway is now available through an early-access customer program. There are more than 2,000 unique assays for detection of genetic variants in more than 220 genes that code for drug metabolism enzymes.
The TaqMan Drug Metabolism Genotyping Assays are single-tube probe and primer sets for use on Applied Biosystems Real-Time PCR instruments, including the 7300, 7500, and 7900HT Real-Time PCR Systems.
Applied Biosystems technology helps to expand salmon conservation project
The assays and instruments from Applied Biosystems are being used to monitor wild salmon populations in the Pacific Ocean as part of a multinational genotyping project based at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Taking a small piece of fin as a DNA sample, researchers are using Applied Biosystems 3730 DNA Analyzers, TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays and Real-Time PCR Systems to sequence and then genotype the salmon DNA, identifying SNPs to use as genetic markers in the population studies.
As the researchers track salmon migration patterns, intermixing of populations, and identify risk factors, they hope to gain a better understanding of the potential impact of climate change and sustainable fishing practices.
