Finnzymes products available through Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today announced that the Finnzymes line of advanced PCR and qPCR products is now available in the U.S. through its Fisher Scientific channel, providing customers with greater access to these products and ordering convenience.

Finnzymes was recently acquired by Thermo Fisher, and this line of products is now part of the company's Thermo Scientific PCR portfolio. Finnzymes product families now available through Fisher Scientific-U.S. include: Phusion® High-Fidelity and new Hot Start II Polymerase reagents; Phire® Hot-Start and Hot-Start II PCR reagent; Direct PCR kits for plant, blood, tissue and FFPE section; DyNAzyme™ DNA Polymerase; DyNAmo™ qPCR reagents.

These products will also become available through Fisher Scientific in Canada and the United Kingdom within the next few weeks and through additional distribution and direct channels in other parts of the world over time.   

"We are pleased to make Finnzymes products more readily available to our customers," said Michael Deines, global director of marketing for genomics at Thermo Fisher Scientific. "These leading PCR and qPCR tools offer greater speed and yield in amplification as well as higher fidelity and specificity, enhancing our customers' efficiency and effectiveness in the laboratory. Fisher Scientific provides its customers with convenient ordering and an extensive network of field and support staff."
  
Finnzymes products may be ordered 24-hours-a-day through Fisher Scientific-U.S. by calling 1-800-766-7000, faxing 1-800-926-1166 or visiting: www.fishersci.com

In Canada and the United Kingdom, customers may contact their regional Fisher Scientific offices for availability and ordering information.  Refer to page 240

New service helps healthcare SMEs compete for NHS contracts

Healthcare product or service companies looking to sell into the NHS will benefit from a new service rolled out to West Midlands SMEs by MedilinkWM.

Selling products into the NHS is one of the toughest challenges facing UK SMEs, which is why MedilinkWM, the Life Science industry association, has partnered with MultiQuote to develop the 'Suppliers Registration Portal' - a system which aims to help SMEs in the region to overcome this problem.

Richard Stone, MedilinkWM Operations Director explains: "We have been running a small pilot scheme aimed at levelling the playing field between large companies and SMEs trying to supply into the NHS for purchases or contracts below the OJEU tender threshold of £101,323.

"NHS Trusts that use the system advertise a request for quotations and potential suppliers are able to see it and respond - all through the portal.

"The pilot, involving around a dozen companies, has proved successful, so we are rolling it out to the wider medical device and healthcare community. We know that quotations are going out all the time and some companies have landed new business from NHS Trusts they would not otherwise have been able to connect with."

For further information about this service from MedilinkWM, view website: www.MedilinkWM.co.uk

Agilent Technologies, National Institute for Bioprocessing
Research and Training, advance emerging glycomics research

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) and the Agilent Foundation has awarded Professor Pauline Rudd an Agilent Thought Leader Award in support of her emerging glycomics research.

The award includes a grant of funding and instruments to the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) in Dublin, Ireland. The goals of the research are to develop novel approaches to analyze protein glycosylation which will assist in the characterization of recombinant protein drugs, and to study potential glycan biomarkers associated with disease using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

As leading experts in glycomics research, Professor Rudd's group members have developed a new technology for high-throughput, detailed, quantitative glycan analysis at NIBRT's Glycobiology Group Laboratory.

"Our partnership with Agilent will focus on multidimensional nanoscale LC-MS/MS separations for the comprehensive analysis of released oligosaccharides," said Maurice N. Treacy, CEO of NIRBT.  "The research will leverage the expertise of Agilent in separation sciences and NIBRT's expertise in glycobiology to allow the development of novel technologies and complete solutions for rapid glycan analysis for use by the bio-pharmaceutical sector and in academia."

The NIBRT Glycobiology Lab is at the forefront of fully automating technologies for glycan release and labelling, HPLC analysis, and exoglycosidase sequencing. Dedicated software and experimental databases enable computer assisted data analysis. The platform is allied to MS technologies to obtain further structural characterization and to provide a service that supports the drug development pipeline of leading pharmaceutical companies.

"Agilent is uniquely positioned to provide comprehensive analytical solutions for glycoprotein characterization and oligosaccharide analysis," said Gustavo Salem, vice president and general manager of the Biological Systems Division at Agilent.  "We are very eager to begin working with leading glycomics scientists at NIRBT to continue to drive research and discovery in this emerging field."

Rudi Grimm, Ph.D., director of science and technology for Agilent's Life Science Group, will work closely with Professor Rudd to provide technical expertise and serving as the primary contact with Agilent. Dr. Grimm created the opportunity for the grant by working with Agilent's University Relations Program and Life Sciences Group to secure funding and instrumentation.

This is the first award from Agilent's new Thought Leader Program, which promotes fundamental advances in the life sciences by contributing financial support, products and/or expertise to the research of influential thought leaders.

National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training in profile
NIBRT - National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training, Dublin Ireland is a centre of excellence that supports the biopharma sector  by offering research platform solutions for bio-manufacturing, provides tailored accredited industrial training and academic educational programmes to students in purpose-built flexible and modern bioprocessing facilities, that will facilitate the expansion of the bio-pharma sector in Ireland. For further information please refer to www.nibrt.ie.

Agilent Foundation in profile
The Agilent Technologies Foundation funds university research at the frontiers of measurement in electronics, chemical and bio sciences.  It also supports initiatives that advance science education in Agilent communities around the world.

Agilent Technologies in profile
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in chemical analysis, life sciences, electronics and communications. The company's 19,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenues of $4.5 billion in fiscal 2009.

For further information, view website: www.agilent.com   Refer to next page

Analytical Technology is awarded prestigious
framework agreement with Yorkshire Water

Specialist electrochemical sensor manufacturer Analytical Technology Inc. today announces that it has been awarded a framework agreement to supply and install bufferless chlorine monitoring systems to Yorkshire Water. An in-depth technical evaluation was carried out by Yorkshire Water, in which Analytical Technology's products were compared with a competitor's against benchmark buffered units. Following this extensive process, Analytical Technology secured the agreement and commenced an asset replacement scheme for over 450 chlorine monitors.

The evaluation period lasted eight months and Analytical Technology's bufferless chlorine monitors were tested using a wide variety of water types at four different water treatment works. During this time, the Analytical Technology monitors required very little maintenance and calibration, reflecting the company's vast experience with membrane technology. This trial established that the monitor's membranes would not need replacing for at least six months at all but a small minority of sites with high manganese levels.

Yorkshire Water continually monitors water from its 59 treatment plants with samples taken from 363 reservoirs where treated water is stored. In a typical year, more than 500,000 tests are carried out on water samples to ensure it meets exacting standards. The first phase of Analytical Technology's framework agreement has been successfully completed with 75 chlorine monitors installed at 12 Yorkshire Water sites in the North and Dales areas. This includes a mixture of buffered, bufferless and pH corrected units, which are deployed depending on water quality and expected pH range. Additionally, funding for the second phase has recently been approved, in which a region wide asset replacement of chlorine monitors will be completed. This will include the installation of 377 chlorine monitors into an additional 31 water treatment plants and 20 secondary chlorination sites.

Rod Black, Asset Reliability Manager at Yorkshire Water said: "The instruments have performed well with little or no issues; chlorine control has been good and has not contributed to any call outs. It is nice to have standard instruments which can be calibrated and cleaned easily." Alan Henson, Project Manager at Yorkshire Water commented: "Analytical Technology came out comfortably the best performer in our rigorous selection process, and the company's vast experience with membrane technology places them ahead of most of their competitors who are only just adopting the technology. Once the roll-out has been completed, the scheme will have realised around £335K of OPEX savings per annum for Yorkshire Water and operators will no longer have to manhandle 25 litre containers of buffer around our sites. Analytical Technology has provided an excellent service and it is a pleasure working with a company who are very customer focussed."

Dr. Michael Strahand, General Manager Europe at Analytical Technology added: "This agreement confirms that Analytical Technology's chlorine monitors are unrivalled in the market, maintaining our position as one of the leading suppliers of water monitoring systems in the UK. Our top quality instrumentation is backed up by our commitment to delivering industry leading customer service and this new framework agreement is a great reward for our hard-working and dedicated team."

Analytical Technology is a UK and European specialist electrochemical sensor manufacturer that supplies both water and gas monitoring instrumentation. The company was set up in 1998 and from then on has enjoyed increasing success. This new framework agreement to supply bufferless chlorine monitors to Yorkshire Water now means Analytical Technology provides instrumentation to 7 out of the 10 major utility companies in the UK. Analytical Technology's wide range of water monitors includes peracetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, residual sulphite and several chlorine monitors. The company's products aim to provide simpler installation, easier operation, regulatory compliance and lower cost, all combined with first class customer service.

For  information, e-mail: sales@atiuk.com or view website: www.analyticaltechnology.com