Two world-renowned companies, Tecan AG and pION INC, have launched the PAMPA Explorer™, a new manual system for drug permeability screening using the Double-Sink™ parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA). The PAMPA Explorer draws upon the combined expertise of both parties, providing the user with the product and support they need to succeed in today’s highly competitive R&D environment. As the premier manufacturer of automated liquid handling workstations and multimode microplate readers, Tecan is supplying its new Infinite™ M200 plate reader for the system. Long recognized as “the A in ADME”, pION has commercialized PAMPA and developed applications that are highly correlated with Caco-2, gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeation.

The PAMPA Explorer is a manual, upgradeable entry-level PAMPA system featuring the Infinite M200 plate reader, capable of screening hundreds of compounds per day. The advanced quad4 monochromators™ technology in the Infinite M200 provides excellent sensitivity and allows the user to select any wavelength from UV to NIR, and to perform absorbance, excitation and emission scans. Of course, the PAMPA Explorer can be upgraded to a fully automated Tecan Freedom EVO® platform system when sample throughput increases.

“Over the years we’ve invested heavily in developing new applications for our patented Double-Sink PAMPA that allows our licensed customers to conduct cost-effective screening prior to the more expensive cellular and in vivo GIT and BBB testing. We’re excited about working with Tecan, who builds high quality and reliability into all its products. Tecan’s first-class plate reader, the Infinite M200, is no exception,” explains Dr. Alex Avdeef, pION CSO and President.

Double-Sink PAMPA is an API-sparing technique that allows the user to identify the most promising leads well in advance of other cell-based methods. To see the PAMPA Explorer system in the USA, visit pION booth 2434 at AAPS in San Diego, November 12-14, 2007.

About Tecan

Tecan (www.tecan.com) is a leading global supplier of solutions for the biopharma, forensic and diagnostic industries. The company is a leader in the development, production and distribution of advanced automation and detection solutions for the world’s leading life science laboratories. Through its REMP subsidiary (www.remp.com), Tecan is the premier supplier of large-scale automated laboratory storage and logistics systems. Founded in Switzerland in 1980, the company has over 1100 employees, owns production, research and development sites in both North America and Europe and maintains a sales and service network in 52 countries. In 2006, Tecan achieved sales of CHF 405.9 million (USD 324.7 million; EUR 258.6 million). Shares of the Tecan Group are traded on the SWX Swiss Exchange (TK: TECN/Reuters: TECZn.S/Valor: 1210019).

About pION

pION INC, located in Woburn, Mass., develops, manufactures, and provides analytical tools for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. pION’s line of products and laboratory services help increase the speed of compound screening while reducing the overall cost of drug discovery. pION tools provide characterization and prediction of absorption, permeability, solubility, dissolution, and other physicochemical and QSAR properties of chemical compounds.

For more information about Tecan, please contact:

Tecan Group Ltd.
Seestrasse 103, CH-8708 Männedorf
Switzerland
T +41 44 922 81 11, F +41 44 922 81 12
info@tecan.com, www.tecan.com

For more information about pION, please contact:

pION INC
5 Constitutional Way, Woburn, MA 01801
T +1 781 935 8939, F+1 781 935 8938
info@pion-inc.com, www.pion-inc.com