Aurora Biosciences and Packard Instrument Company form strategic alliance: will build ultra-high-throughput screening systems to accelerate drug discovery.LA JOLLA La Jolla (lə hoi`yə), on the Pacific Ocean, S Calif., an uninc. district within the confines of San Diego; founded 1869. The beautiful ocean beaches, in particular La Jolla shores and Black's Beach, and sea-washed caves attract visitors and , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 1996--Aurora Biosciences Corporation and Packard Instrument Company today announced a strategic alliance to develop and market miniaturized instrumentation systems for ultra-high-throughput drug screening. The systems will employ Packard's leading-edge instrumentation technology, optimized for Aurora's novel fluorescent screens fluorescent screen, n See screen, intensifying. . As part of the agreement, Packard received an exclusive sublicense sub·li·cense n. A license giving rights of production or marketing of products or services to a person or company that is not the primary holder of such rights. tr.v. to market certain of Aurora's fluorescence assay reagents to not-for-profit research institutions. Packard also made a $1 million investment in Aurora series B preferred stock Stock shares that have preferential rights to dividends or to amounts distributable on liquidation, or to both, ahead of common shareholders. Preferred stock is given preference over common stock. Holders of preferred stock receive dividends at a fixed annual rate. . The co-development project between Packard and Aurora will focus in three areas. First, the companies will develop very high-density assay plates, called "Nano-Platesx," suitable for use with Aurora's mammalian cell-based fluorescence assays. Second, they will develop computer-controlled robotic arrays of miniature pipettes for aspirating and dispensing reagents and samples in nanoliter (one millionth of a milliliter milliliter /mil·li·li·ter/ (mL) (-le?ter) one thousandth (10-3) of a liter. mil·li·li·ter n. Abbr. ) volumes. Finally, the companies will develop optical imagers that can quantify and analyze thousands of fluorescence assays within a few minutes. Following the development of these products, Aurora will have up to three years' exclusive rights to market them for use in ultra-high-throughput screening and in automated synthetic chemistry. After that time, Aurora and Packard will share co-exclusive rights for these markets. Packard holds exclusive rights to market products developed through the collaboration in other areas including the diagnostics, cellular/biomolecular research, and DNA sequencing DNA sequencing The determination of the sequence of nucleotides in a sample of DNA. markets. "We are delighted and privileged to become partners with the acknowledged leader in screening instrumentation," said Timothy J. Rink, MD, ScD, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Aurora. "Packard's outstanding track record of innovation, service and quality, combined with our platform of new assay technologies is a winning formula to provide uniquely flexible and cost-efficient solutions for our customers." "These new systems will provide the basis for a quantum leap quantum leap n. An abrupt change or step, especially in method, information, or knowledge: "War was going to take a quantum leap; it would never be the same" Garry Wills. in sensitivity, throughput, versatility and cost-effectiveness to meet the unprecedented need in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries for extremely rapid screening," said Harry Stylli, Ph.D., senior director of screen technology at Aurora. "Current screening bottlenecks result from the need to test large numbers of novel biomolecular targets emerging form genomics with the millions of candidate drugs available from combinatorial chemistry Combinatorial chemistry involves the rapid synthesis or the computer simulation of a large number of different but structurally related molecules. Introduction Synthesis of molecules in a combinatorial fashion can quickly lead to large numbers of molecules. , natural product sources and existing `file' compounds." Richard McKernan, president of Packard noted that he views the alliance with Aurora as cornerstone development towards more productive screening systems. "Aurora's chemistries developed by the renowned Dr. Roger Tsien at the University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). present Packard with the opportunity to fully exploit the potential of its new imaging and liquid handling technologies. "Jointly, we can develop systems that will deliver significant productivity increases to laboratories involved in drug discovery." Staf C. van Cauter, vice president of business development at Packard confirmed that the combination of both companies' core competencies may lead to nanotechnology breakthroughs in various fields. "The ultra-high sensitivity of Aurora's fluorescence assays, combined with Packard's single-photon imaging and nanoliter liquid handling capabilities will permit researchers in cellular and molecular biology molecular biology, scientific study of the molecular basis of life processes, including cellular respiration, excretion, and reproduction. The term molecular biology was coined in 1938 by Warren Weaver, then director of the natural sciences program at the Rockefeller to do more tests, more quickly, at significantly reduced costs. We believe that this is a major step forward toward the implementation of nanotechnology in routine instrumentation." Aurora Biosciences Corporation's primary mission is to advance the drug discovery process by commercializing novel, automated systems for ultra-high-throughput screening. The company's systems primarily use fluorescence-based screens in mammalian cells, but are also adaptable for enzyme or receptor-ligand assays. Internal research and development efforts will focus on developing novel screens, and establishing screening systems at Aurora and in customers' facilities. The company will partner with industry leaders in adapting and developing robotics, informatics Same as information technology and information systems. The term is more widely used in Europe. , compound and liquid handling systems, and miniaturized assay and detection devices. Aurora expects to set the new standard for drug screening and to enable multiple pharmaceutical and biotech customers to speed up the discovery of innovative medicines in return for research fees, milestone payments and product royalties. Aurora recently raised over $16.5 million in equity financing Equity Financing The act of raising money for company activities by selling common or preferred stock to individual or institutional investors. In return for the money paid, shareholders receive ownership interests in the corporation. , and announced a collaboration with Sequana Therapeutics Inc. for functional analysis and screening of gene targets. Packard Instrument Company is a fast growing, privately owned company focused on the drug discovery market. With annual sales of $110 million, Packard's current scintillation scintillation /scin·til·la·tion/ (sin?ti-la´shun) 1. an emission of sparks. 2. a subjective visual sensation, as of seeing sparks. 3. and luminescence luminescence, general term applied to all forms of cool light, i.e., light emitted by sources other than a hot, incandescent body, such as a black body radiator. microplate readers and robotic liquid handling equipment are used by over 300 pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide. Over the last years, Packard has invested heavily in nanotechnology. In collaboration with Cambridge Imaging Ltd. (U.K.) and Microdrop AG (Germany), Packard has developed photon counting imaging and nanoliter liquid handling technology that will be implemented in next generation drug discovery systems. CONTACT: Aurora Biosciences Timothy J. Rink, M.A., M.D. Sc.D. 619/452-5000 Ext. 101 or Packard Instrument Company Staf van Cauter, 203/639-2202 Al Kolb, 203/639-2409 or J. Kureczka Associates Joan Kureczka, 415/821-2413 |
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