Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Becomes First Customer For Biacore#s New High Performance Analytical System
Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Becomes First Customer For Biacore's New High Performance Analytical System Uppsala, Sweden, September 25, 2001. Biacore International AB (Biacore) (SSE: BCOR; Nasdaq: BCOR) today announced that Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has become the first customer for its recently launched Biacore®S51 system for lead characterization and preclinical applications in drug discovery. Millennium will use the system to accelerate and optimize the identification of small molecule lead candidates. Biacore S51 was specifically designed to address major bottlenecks facing the drug discovery industry at stages downstream of high- throughput screening. The first instrument in Biacore's new Series S technology platform, Biacore S51 was developed in collaboration with major pharmaceutical companies including Millennium, SmithKline Beecham and Pharmacia Corporation. "Millennium's unique approach to drug discovery and development is at the forefront of the industry. As a result we are continuously evaluating technology products and services that will help us enhance our productivity," said Craig Muir, Vice President, Platform Technology at Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Biacore S51 offers high quality, quantitative data on binding kinetics, affinity, concentration and specificity of the interaction between a compound and target molecule. It is the most advanced instrument on the market based on Surface Plasmon Resonance technology, which uniquely provides non-label, real-time analysis of biomolecular interactions. Biacore S51 offers higher levels of throughput, greater data quality and reduced sample usage than any other commercially available SPR instrument, enabling it to match the output from most high throughput screens. Millennium scientists have worked with Biacore to maximize the potential of Biacore S51 and will now use the system to speed hit-to-lead confirmation and enhance early ADME analysis of potential drug candidates. "Millennium's considerable expertise in drug discovery and development and their early evaluation of our technology played a significant role in validating Biacore S51, and we are pleased to have them as our first customer," said Paul James, Marketing Director of SPR Discovery Systems at Biacore. "We believe Biacore S51 will be well received, and this a first indication of that conviction. We also look forward to our continued work with Millennium to identify new opportunities for our technology." - Ends - For Biacore: This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which, by their nature, involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Notes to editors: Biacore is a global market leader in Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) based technology with its own sales operations in the U.S., across Europe, in Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The technology is protected by a strong patent portfolio. Target groups consist primarily of medical and life science research laboratories and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies all over the world. Biacore focuses on drug discovery as the prime area for future growth. The Company currently has seven systems on the market with its Biacore®S51 for applications downstream of high-throughput screening (HTS) including rapid characterization of HTS hits and comprehensive preclinical evaluation of lead compounds. Biacore®3000 offers specific application in drug discovery upstream of HTS. A new SPR array system is currently under development. Based in Uppsala, Sweden, the Company is listed on Stockholmsbörsen and Nasdaq in the U.S. In 2000 the Company had sales of SEK 438.8 million and an operating income of SEK 78.0 million. Further information on Biacore can be found on the web: www.biacore.com Address and phone: Biacore International AB Rapsgatan 7, SE-754 50 Uppsala, SWEDEN Phone: +46 (0)18-675700 Fax: +46 (0)18-150111 info@biacore.com ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/09/25/20010925BIT00370/bit0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/09/25/20010925BIT00370/bit0001.pdf