Tecan and Pierce collaborate on drug discovery

Swiss company Tecan, a leading player in the healthcare-supply industry specialising in the development, production and distribution of solutions enabling the discovery of pharmaceutical substances, has entered into an agreement with US-based Pierce Biotechnology to develop and co-market a series of high-throughput screening (HTS) solutions offering fluorescence lifetime technology (FLT).

The collaborative effort will use Tecan's Ultra Evolution Detection Platform for high-throughput fluorescence lifetime measurements and Pierce's HTS assay technologies. FLT is a highly sensitive spectroscopic technology ideally suited to drug-screening procedures. By overcoming key bottlenecks associated with HTS assays, such as compound interference and false-positive or negative results, this high-performance solution will deliver significant benefits for compound library screening and lead compound validation.

'This collaboration brings together two powerful innovators with strong market positions in their respective fields of reagents and detection technologies,' said Leland Foster, president and ceo of Fisher Biochemicals, Pierce's parent organisation. 'The complementary technology platforms will result in assays that will be more sensitive, accurate and robust in the development of new medicines.'

As part of the co-marketing agreement, the two companies will share specific product information and support and each will co-promote the other's technologies. The companies plan to develop a series of scientific application notes that describe challenging or novel applications that can be more easily accomplished or yield better results using the combination of Pierce and Tecan products.