Top 5 Pharma Advocate Cell Culture System for Drug Discovery

(Cambridge UK, September 23, 2002)  The Automation Partnership (TAP), suppliers of advanced automated systems, has reported the 12^th sale of its recently launched ‘SelecT’ system, the first cell culture technology for drug discovery able to culture between 1 and 168 cell lines simultaneously and generate assay-ready plates on demand.

SelecT was designed by TAP to meet the increasing demands for enhanced quality and throughput required in assay development, HTS and lead optimisation.  The system draws upon over a decade of automated cell culture experience with TAP’s successful Cellmate system, used for scale up and GMP manufacture of vaccines, gene therapies and tissue engineering. 

A fully operational SelecT was first showcased at SBS last year and has already been installed with 5 of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, building upon TAP’s reputation as a leading supplier of automated cell culture systems.

Phil Offin, TAP’s Cell Biology Application Manager, commented, “It’s great to see the market response to the launch of SelecT.  We now have 12 systems throughout Europe and North America and are in the process of securing further sales that will expand on our geographical coverage.”  Phil continued, “SelecT is rapidly becoming the benchmark cell culture system for driving drug discovery, removing costly bottlenecks in the process and reducing lead times significantly. In addition to the obvious gains in productivity, our partners are already seeing major benefits in improved Z' values in their cell-based assays as a result of the greater consistency of cells cultured reliably by robotics.“

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For more information, please contact

Matthew Walker		James Parkinson
The Automation Partnership (Cambridge) Ltd		STMP Marketing Solutions Ltd
York Way, Royston, Herts, SG8 5WY, UK		Meadowside, Mountbatten Way, Congleton, CW12 1DN, UK
Tel: +44 1763 227200 Fax: +44 1763 227201		Tel: +44 1260 296500 Fax: +44 1260 296501
matthew.walker@automationpartnership.com		james@stmpmarketing.com

About The Automation Partnership

The Automation Partnership is a world leader in the design and development of advanced industrial automation solutions for the life science industry.

With a successful track record in automating and integrating processes for cell culture, compound and sample management, liquid handling and ultra high throughput screening, the Company continues to develop and implement market driven automation solutions to meet the discovery, development and commercial challenges of the 21^st century.

The company’s systems are installed worldwide at leading life science companies such as Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Centre National de Génotypage, GlaxoSmithKline, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Merck and Procter & Gamble.

Originated in 1988, The Automation Partnership is a private company with over 180 staff in Europe and the United States.  The company’s headquarters and production and development facilities are located in Cambridge, England, with a US sales and support office in Wilmington, Delaware. 

Additional information about The Automation Partnership can be found at www.automationpartnership.com .

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