FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2006--
New LightSight(TM) Software for Metabolite Identification
Increases the Effectiveness of Pharmaceutical Companies'
Selection of Drug Candidates for Development
Applied Biosystems (NYSE: ABI), an Applera Corporation business,
and its joint venture partner, MDS Sciex, a division of MDS Inc.
(NYSE:MDZ, TSX:MDS), today announced the global availability of a new
drug discovery application that enables pharmaceutical companies and
contract research organizations to more quickly and accurately screen
drug candidates. The new application - LightSight(TM) Software for
Metabolite Identification - improves the productivity and efficiency
of drug discovery scientists analyzing new compounds to treat human
disease.
Drugs are usually metabolized by the body as a method to eliminate
the drug. Identifying drug metabolites, which are the intermediates
and products of metabolism, is key to the drug discovery process
because the metabolites formed could be potentially toxic or could be
more efficacious than the drug itself. Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX's
metabolite ID solution enables drug discovery scientists to more
quickly examine thousands of drug candidates and quickly determine
those that fail to meet the requirements for further development.
Companies can then focus valuable resources with greater accuracy on
the most promising drug candidates.
A high level of accuracy in metabolite ID is critical, as research
by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America indicates
that on average, only five out of 5,000 drug candidates make it to
clinical trial testing. Although generally costing millions of dollars
to develop, only one drug out of those five is expected to eventually
be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and international
regulatory agencies.
More than 100 pharmaceutical scientists from 35 companies
worldwide provided input and feedback for the development of the
LightSight(TM) Software, resulting in a comprehensive metabolite ID
package attuned to the way metabolite ID labs operate. One such
scientist is Sandeep Pusalkar, a scientist at Millennium
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in Cambridge, MA. Millennium is one of the
world's top biopharmaceutical firms, focused on targeting new drugs
with the highest potential to fit its corporate strategies for
personalized medicine.
"Metabolite ID is a tedious, time-consuming process, and a real
bottleneck in our lab," said Pusalkar. "LightSight(TM) Software can
help us decide which targeted drugs could be most effective by giving
us greater confidence in our metabolite data earlier in the discovery
cycle. Every additional day it takes to move a compound forward in
that process has costly ramifications, so this will be a welcome
advantage."
This new pharmaceutical application can be employed with the
widely-used 4000 Q TRAP(R) mass spectrometer, as well as other triple
quadrupole and hybrid linear ion trap mass spectrometers from Applied
Biosystems/MDS SCIEX. Because the application is designed to be
workflow-based for the Metabolite ID lab, it allows users to
streamline their work, simplifying the process and allowing for a
larger number of experiments to be performed without an increase in
resources or training. Online documentation explains the science
behind the software, while video animations guide the user through the
key software functionality.
"Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX understands the complexity of
picking the best targets for new drugs," said Laura Lauman, division
president, Proteomics & Small Molecule Division, Applied Biosystems.
"That's why our scientists continue to drive innovations in mass
spectrometry technology to enable new and exciting discoveries in
science and medicine."
Known for its proven track record in advanced pharmaceutical
development tools, Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX is demonstrating its
mass spectrometry platforms for various innovative solutions,
including this metabolite identification application, at the 54th
annual American Society of Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) conference in
Seattle this week.
"The Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX joint venture delivers
innovations that advance the work of life scientists," said Andy
Boorn, president of MDS Sciex. "LightSight(TM) Software contributes to
pharmaceutical companies' initiatives to improve the process of drug
discovery and development."
More information about Applied Biosystems' drug discovery
solutions can also be found at www.appliedbiosystems.com; click on
"Drug Discovery."
About Applera Corporation and Applied Biosystems
Applera Corporation consists of two operating groups. The Applied
Biosystems Group serves the life science industry and research
community by developing and marketing instrument-based systems,
consumables, software, and services. Customers use these tools to
analyze nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), small molecules, and proteins to
make scientific discoveries and develop new pharmaceuticals. Applied
Biosystems' products also serve the needs of some markets outside of
life science research, which we refer to as "applied markets," such as
the fields of: human identity testing (forensic and paternity
testing); biosecurity, which refers to products needed in response to
the threat of biological terrorism and other malicious, accidental,
and natural biological dangers; and quality and safety testing, for
example in food and the environment. Applied Biosystems is
headquartered in Foster City, CA, and reported sales of nearly $1.8
billion during fiscal 2005. The Celera Genomics Group uses proprietary
genomics and proteomics discovery platforms to develop molecular
diagnostic products and to identify and validate novel drug targets.
Celera maintains a strategic alliance in molecular diagnostics with
Abbott. In addition, Celera is developing new molecular diagnostic and
pharmacogenomic assays outside of its alliance with Abbott.
Therapeutic antibodies against Celera-discovered drug targets are
being advanced through strategic partnerships. Information about
Applera Corporation, including reports and other information filed by
the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available
at http://www.applera.com, or by telephoning 800.762.6923.
About MDS Sciex and MDS Inc.
MDS Sciex is the analytical instrumentation and technology
solutions division of MDS Inc. MDS Inc. (TSX:MDS)(NYSE:MDZ) has more
than 8,800 highly skilled people in 27 countries. It provides a
diverse range of superior products and services to increase customers'
speed, precision and productivity in the drug development and disease
diagnosis processes. MDS is a global, values-driven life sciences
company, recognized for its reliability and collaborative
relationships that help create better outcomes in the treatment of
disease. Find out more at www.mdsinc.com or by calling 1-800-MDS-7222,
24 hours a day.
Applied Biosystems Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking.
These may be identified by the use of forward-looking words or phrases
such as "should," "expect," and "planned," among others. These
forward-looking statements are based on Applera Corporation's current
expectations. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
provides a "safe harbor" for such forward-looking statements. In order
to comply with the terms of the safe harbor, Applera Corporation notes
that a variety of factors could cause actual results and experience to
differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations
expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include
but are not limited to: (1) rapidly changing technology and dependence
on the development and customer acceptance of new products; (2) sales
dependent on customers' capital spending policies and
government-sponsored research; and (3) other factors that might be
described from time to time in Applera Corporation's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this press
release is as of the date of the release, and Applera does not
undertake any duty to update this information, including any
forward-looking statements, unless required by law.
Applied Biosystems and Celera are registered trademarks and
Applera is a trademark of Applera Corporation or its subsidiaries in
the US and/or certain other countries. Q TRAP is a registered
trademark and LightSight is a trademark of Applied Biosystems/MDS
SCIEX, a joint venture between Applera Corporation and MDS Inc.
Copyright(C) 2006. Applera Corporation and MDS Inc. All rights
reserved.
CONTACT: Applied Biosystems
Media:
Anthony Petrucci, 508-383-7961
Anthony.B.Petrucci@appliedbiosystems.com
or
Investors:
Peter Fromen, 650-638-5828
peter.fromen@appliedbiosystems.com
or
MDS Inc.
Sharon Mathers, 416-675-6777 ext. 4721
Sharon.Mathers@mdsinc.com
SOURCE: Applied Biosystems and MDS Sciex
