Zymark iLink Software Compatibility Expands to Include Molecular Devices Next-Generation Microplate Readers.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

BIOWIRE2K

HOPKINTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 21, 2003

Zymark Corporation is pleased to announce the expansion of iLink(TM) compatibility to include Molecular Devices' two new next generation microplate readers, the Analyst GT and the Gemini EM.

Zymark's iLink is a new "point and shoot" software interface between laboratory instruments and Zymark's Twister(R) II robot which dramatically simplifies running automated instrument protocols. With this new software, any instrument that uses microplates can have automated stacking capability added to it by connecting the Twister II. The iLink software extends the power of automation to individual instruments, such as readers and washers, with the flexibility to pass plates through several instruments, building to a powerful, integrated system.

Zymark's Twister II is the standard in the industry for handling microplates. Whether it is used as a stand-alone stacker or as the hub of a mini-system, Twister II can move up to 400 plates with a telescoping arm and rotating wrist for flexibility to position plates in virtually all readers, washers, and liquid handlers. The Twister II delivers more efficient benchtop storage of plates than any other laboratory microplate handler.

Commenting on the addition of these two new products, Mark Roskey, Ph.D., Executive Vice President of Marketing at Zymark Corporation, noted, "iLink brings the power of automation into the hands of the everyday scientist. Researchers using laboratory instruments manually can finally be free of the task of feeding microplates to instrumentation, and become an even more highly valued resource for their company."

Analyst GT Multimode Reader is the newest addition to the industry-leading Analyst family and offers high-throughput screening laboratories significant improvements in read-time and sensitivity in every plate format and every detection mode. Gemini EM Fluorescence Microplate Reader adds many capabilities to the Gemini XS, allowing it to address the fast-growing area of cell-based fluorescence applications.

Stephen Oldfield, Ph.D., Vice President of Marketing at Molecular Devices, noted "The new Analyst GT and Gemini EM systems build on the success of our established Analyst and Gemini families. GT utilizes a new activeXsuite software and EM a new version of SoftMax Pro which have enabled Zymark to rapidly integrate on their robotic systems using their iLink software."

The new software interfaces are being added to an already expansive library of Molecular Devices instruments that are compatible with Zymark's iLink software and Twister II robot. Molecular Devices SpectraMax(R) Series, Gemini XS, and Analyst HT readers together with the Embla washer and AquaMax(TM) dispenser all have existing standard interfaces with iLink.

Molecular Devices Corporation is a leading developer of high-performance, bioanalytical measurement systems that accelerate and improve drug discovery and other life sciences research. The Company's systems and consumables enable pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to leverage advances in genomics and combinatorial chemistry by facilitating the high-throughput and cost-effective identification an evaluation of drug technologies that integrate its expertise in engineering, molecular and cell biology, and chemistry. Molecular Devices enables its customers to improve research productivity and effectiveness, which ultimately accelerates the complex process of discovering and developing new drugs.

Zymark is a leading provider of automation solution serving the worldwide life science, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. The company has introduced new automation paradigms that have empowered scientists to raise laboratory research to a new, more industrialized level. With these advances, Zymark has firmly established itself as a solutions provider with a single-minded goal of streamlining the entire drug discovery pipeline. Zymark provides direct sales, service and applications support throughout the world and hosts the annual ISLAR conference on laboratory automation.