Männedorf, Switzerland,  9 August 2004: - Tecan, a leading player in the health care supply industry, and CIS bio international, an established developer of HTRF® (Homogeneous Time-Resolved Fluorescence) technology and services used in assay development and drug screening, have entered into a business partnership to deploy CIS bio’s HTRF technology in Tecan’s automation systems for drug discovery and additional life science research applications.

Under the terms of the agreement, Tecan will license CIS bio’s HTRF technology for use in its high-performance time-resolved fluorescence microplate readers that are used in HTRF-based assays.  HTRF is a leading technology within the drug discovery field and has a diversified application capability that includes kinases, GPCR screening and immunoassays. HTRF is the first TR-FRET (Time-Resolved Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer) technology to be universally applicable for use in this type of screening instrumentation.

Siegfried Sasshofer, Product Group Manager Detection for Tecan said,  “CIS bio has played a major role in the development of technologies within the TR-FRET field and are the recognized leader in HTRF®/TRACE® (Time-Resolved Amplified Cryptate Emission) technologies.  CIS bio’s proprietary technology, HTRF, is considered the gold standard in the field of homogeneous fluorescence methodologies.  Our customers can now access this sophisticated technology very easily on our detection systems.”

François Degorce, Head of HTRF marketing and business development at CIS bio international added “We are pleased to establish this partnership with Tecan.  Our common goal is to enable ready access to our technology and support Tecan’s ongoing R&D efforts by helping to develop upgraded solutions for its readers. We will also help by supplying reagents for development and certification.”

About HTRF®

HTRF (Homogeneous Time-Resolved Fluorescence)-based assays are used for the study of a broad variety of biomolecular interactions. The homogenous format of the assay design overcomes time consuming separation steps and makes it an ideal tool for many screening tasks. Fluorescence readout for HTRF relies on two essential principles. First, the instrument used should enable a measurement under a time-resolved mode (i.e. by introduction of a time delay following the excitation pulse). Second, both emissions at 620 and 665 nanometres (nm) have to be measured simultaneously in order to maximize correction efficacy by ratioing the two signals. Tecan’s Ultra Evolution™ and Genios Pro™ readers meet both of these requirements and, in addition, offer the sensitivity and reliability needed for biologically relevant high throughput screening assays. For more information about HTRF, log onto www.htrf-assays.com.   

About CIS bio international

CIS bio international is an established developer of technologies that are used in assay development and drug screening procedures to enhance drug discovery. The company is also a pioneer in the field of homogenous fluorescence methodologies via its proprietary technology, HTRF®, and produces a selection of biological reagents and methods used by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as contract research organizations (CROs). In addition, CIS bio international develops, manufactures and markets antibody-based diagnostic assays for the quantification of tumor makers and other biomarkers in clinical biology. For more information about CIS bio international and HTRF, log onto www.htrf-assays.com.   

For additional information, please contact:

Tecan Group Ltd:

Cornelia Kegele
Manager Marketing Communications and Branding
Tel.: +41 (0)44 922 81 11
Fax: +41 (0)44 922 82 81
e-mail:cornelia.kegele@tecan.com
Internet:www.tecan.com

CIS bio international:

e-mail: bioassays@cisbiointernational.fr
Internet: www.htrf-assays.com