BioTrove and Cisbio Bioassays Enter into Distribution Agreement for RapidFire[R] Screening Services.

Combination of Cisbio's HTRF Portfolio with High-Throughput RapidFire Screening Option for Intractable Targets, Secondary Analysis of Standard Targets Offers Customers Total Screening Solution

WOBURN, Mass. & BEDFORD, Mass. -- BioTrove, Inc. and Cisbio Bioassays, a member of the IBA Group, today announced at the Association for Laboratory Automation (ALA) 2009 Conference in Palm Springs, CA, the signing of a co-exclusive distributor agreement enabling Cisbio to provide customers with a total screening solution for drug discovery. Under the agreement, Cisbio will offer BioTrove's RapidFire([R]) High-Throughput Mass Spectrometry (RF-MS) screening service as a label-free detection method for assay development and drug screening, in conjunction with its HTRF[R] (Homogeneous Time-Resolved Fluorescence) technology and services. RapidFire services will be performed by BioTrove at their screening facility.

"Incorporating the RapidFire system into our proven HTRF technology product line gives customers access to both mass-spectrometry and fluorescence-based assays for screening difficult drug targets," said Glenn Knapik, General Manager, Cisbio US, Inc. "Cisbio is dedicated to being a resource for its customers by providing technical expertise in the laboratory as well as innovative services to satisfy their drug screening needs. This collaboration enables us to expand our capabilities with a more complete services offering."

Through its sales organization covering the entire United States, Cisbio will offer BioTrove's RapidFire mass spectrometry-based screening and analysis service as part of its HTRF drug discovery screening services portfolio. HTRF is a highly sensitive, robust technology for the detection of molecular interactions of proteins in vitro and is widely used for primary and secondary screening phases of drug development. Together, the RapidFire system and HTRF will enable researchers to investigate most standard pharmaceutical drug targets in the lead discovery phase and the approximately twenty percent of drug targets difficult to study using traditional fluorescent or radiolabel screening methods, including triglycerides, lipids, fatty acids, prostaglandins, steroids, coenzyme A derivatives, neurotransmitters, anti-fungals and anti-infectives. RapidFire provides label-free, biologically relevant data so that researchers can determine which compounds may be validated or compromised before further investigation - whether as a primary screening method for difficult targets, or secondary screening of standard drug targets.

"BioTrove is committed to supporting and facilitating our customers' drug discovery endeavors with technology that can quickly eliminate unsuccessful compounds from the pipeline, helping to focus research efforts and resources," said Al Luderer, Ph.D., President and CEO of BioTrove. "Cisbio's expertise in HTRF technology and significant sales presence among biopharma clients, combined with BioTrove's unique mass-spectrometry technology, will now provide customers access to a single, comprehensive source for drug discovery screening analysis."

For more information on the collaboration, please visit BioTrove and Cisbio (booth #173) at the ALA 2009 Conference, Jan. 25-28, in Palm Springs, California.

About BioTrove, Inc.

BioTrove, Inc. offers two innovative technology platforms: OpenArray([R]), which advances genomic research in a wide range of life science fields, including agriculture, disease research, and public health, and RapidFire([R]), which enables the acceleration of drug discovery and pipeline decisions. With 11 of the 15 largest biopharmaceutical companies based on global sales as clients, and partnerships with prestigious research and public health centers around the world, BioTrove's products and services ensure that an industry committed to accuracy and speed can meet business goals.

The OpenArray([R])Platform enables genomics researchers to generate SNP and real time qPCR data in the hundreds of thousands of data points per day, significantly increasing the number of samples analyzed while significantly decreasing the time and cost required. The flexible format and nanoliter scale of the OpenArray system allows for easy adjustment of sample and assay numbers, achieving economical, high-throughput genomics.

RapidFire([R]) Mass Spectrometry (RF-MS) feeds samples directly to the mass spectrometer at six to eight seconds per sample, eliminating the bottleneck created by traditional mass spectrometry throughput. RF-MS is routinely used in many applications including the high-throughput screening of previously intractable drug targets, ADME assays and directed evolution studies.

About Cisbio Bioassays

Cisbio Bioassays is a global developer of products and technologies used in in vitro diagnostics and assay development for drug screening procedures. The company pioneered the field of homogenous fluorescence methodologies via its proprietary technology, HTRF[R], a highly sensitive, robust technology for the detection of molecular interactions and widely used by the pharmaceutical industry for the high throughput screening stage of drug development. In addition, Cisbio produces a selection of biological reagents and methods used by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as contract research organizations (CROs). Headquartered in Bagnols-sur-Ceze, France, with facilities in Bedford, MA, U.S.A. and a network of distributors worldwide, Cisbio is a member of the Belgium-based IBA group. IBA develops and markets leading edge technologies, pharmaceuticals and tailor-made solutions for healthcare with a focus on cancer diagnosis and therapy. Leveraging its scientific expertise, IBA is also active in the field of industrial sterilization and ionization. Listed on the pan-European stock exchange EURONEXT, IBA is included in the BelMid Index. Please visit www.htrf.com and www.iba-worldwide.com for more information about Cisbio and IBA.

HTRF[R] is a highly sensitive, robust technology for the detection of molecular interactions of proteins in vitro and is widely used for primary and secondary screening phases of drug development. HTRF[R] combines standard FRET technology with time-resolved measurement of fluorescence. During the FRET process, HTRF[R] fluorophores emit long-lived fluorescence which can be discriminated from short-lived background fluorescence, boosting detection of these homogeneous assays.