Hamburg/Zurich, July 4th, 2005 – Olympus Europe and MMI Molecular Machines & Industries AG today announce a distribution arrangement for Olympus Europe to distribute MMI micromanipulation products within many European countries. In particular, Olympus holds exclusive distribution rights to MMI Cellcut® and Smartcut® for completely contamination-free, highly accurate laser microdissection applications.

The European distribution agreement enables Olympus to offer complete micromanipulation solutions for life science professionals undertaking molecular biological analyses in a wide variety of fields. Interfaced with Olympus inverted microscopes and using solid-state UV laser and unique patented isolation technologies, the MMI Cellcut® and Smartcut® laser microdissection systems rapidly and accurately isolate single cells or groups of cells from a broad range of sample types.

Utilising the Olympus IX51 and IX71 inverted microscopes the Cellcut is a highly versatile research level system which delivers outstanding image quality for quickly and easily pinpointing cells for isolation. By simply drawing freehand or via predfined geometric shapes using intuitive operating software, as many single cells or groups of cells as required can be encircled and selected for automatic laser dissection and mounting.

The Smartcut is aimed at routine work within pathology and forensics, as well as for education and training purposes. As such, operation is exceptionally easy requiring no sophisticated technical know-how or training. This compact, stand-alone and ready-to-use instrument utilises the Olympus CKX41 inverted microscope and the same leading edge technologies as the Cellcut.

“By incorporating MMI’s advanced micromanipulation tools into our portfolio, we can offer complete system solutions for a wide range of analyses within many fields, from advanced molecular biology research through to routine applications within forensics and pathology. This means that we can comprehensively meet the application needs of our customers,“ said Dr Kay-Peter Schmidt, Product Manager and Head of Life Sciences at Olympus.

"Olympus holds extensive experience and understanding of the requirements of its customers within the life science sector,“ said André P. Imhof, Chief Operating Officer at MMI. "This, in addition to the substantial presence of highly professional Olympus technical specialists across Europe, will enable us to offer the benefits of our cutting edge micromanipulation technologies to a far wider audience.”

Please contact:
OLYMPUS LIFE AND MATERIAL SCIENCE EUROPA GMBH
Microscopy
Esther Ahrent
Section Manager Marketing Communication
Tel: +49 40 2 37 73 - 5426
Fax: +49 40 2 37 73 - 647
E-mail: microscopy@olympus-europa.com
www.olympus-europa.com