SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Labcyte Inc. today announced that its Echo® Acoustic Mass Spectrometry platform was awarded the Technology Prize during the European Laboratory Research & Innovation Group’s (ELRIG) annual Drug Discovery event in Liverpool, UK.
The award was presented by ELRIG Chairman Steve Rees during the two-day international conference, which was attended by more than 1,200 delegates from pharma, biotech, academia and the drug discovery vendor community. ELRIG is a not-for-profit organization serving the life science & drug discovery communities.
“We are thrilled to have received this recognition, especially since it was based on the votes of the meeting attendees,” said Mark Fischer-Colbrie, Chief Executive Officer at Labcyte. “Our goal is to continue our expansion of Acoustic-MS, with new applications, new workflows and enhanced integration into existing drug discovery processes.”
Acoustic liquid dispensing, pioneered by Labcyte, uses the gentle energy of sound waves to move minute quantities of liquid with precision and accuracy. In collaboration with AstraZeneca and Waters, this technology was enhanced to generate a mass spectrometry (MS)-friendly mist of nano-droplets, in a process called Acoustic Mist Ionization (AMI).
Mass spectrometers are currently used to quantify the amount of a target analyte present in screening assays, drug metabolism studies, and safety and efficacy experiments. Acoustic-MS combines the speed and low sample consumption of acoustic liquid handling with the label free nature of mass spectrometry. The system has demonstrated the ability to dramatically reduce both cost and cycle time in early drug discovery.
AstraZeneca has already employed the technology’s significant capabilities, recently completing a full library screen in excess of 2 million compounds in less than six weeks.
The two companies have also teamed up with pharmaceutical company GSK to further advance and test the technology in anticipation of a commercial Acoustic-MS system designed to support a broad range of biochemical and cell-based assays.
About Labcyte Inc.
Labcyte, a global biotechnology tools company headquartered in San Jose, California, is revolutionizing liquid handling. Echo® liquid handling systems uses sound to precisely transfer liquids without contact, eliminating the use of pipettes. Labcyte instruments are used worldwide throughout the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, as well as by hospitals, service laboratories, contract research organizations, and academic institutions. Our customers work across a wide spectrum of scientific research, including drug discovery, genomics, proteomics, diagnostics and personalized medicine. Labcyte has 61 U.S. patents and others internationally. For more information, visit www.labcyte.com.
