Icagen, Inc. Acquires Nanion 's SyncroPatch384 High-Throughput Electrophysiology Platform

DURHAM, N.C., LIVINGSTON, N.J. and MUNICH, July 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Icagen, Inc. and Nanion announced today that Icagen has purchased a SyncroPatch384 high-throughput electrophysiology instrument and entered into an agreement to work together to develop ion channel assays for this platform.   The instrument was delivered to Icagen in May 2016 and the company has established assays for two different gene families on the platform to date.   Assay panels across specific gene families as well as development of diversity panels such as those used in safety screening across the industry will continually be added.

Douglas Krafte, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Icagen Inc. stated, "We evaluated the available options in this technology space and are excited to have acquired the Nanion platform and to be working with this company.   We feel that the SyncroPatch384 is the ideal mechanism to leverage Icagen's decades of ion channel drug discovery experience and extensive inventory of cell lines for our customers and clients. In addition, we value the relationship with Nanion and the very high quality of engagement and depth of expertise of their people." 

Rodolfo Haedo, Vice President, Nanion Technologies Inc. added, "Icagen is established in the industry as leaders in ion channel HTS and R&D and have been developing assays of the highest caliber and excellence for many years. As a company that is owned and run by scientists, we believe the synergy between our teams will help further advance the field and establish new paradigms for ion channel discovery and target identification. Merging Icagen's extensive knowledge of ion channel physiology with Nanion's cutting edge technology paves a clear-cut path full of extraordinary possibilities."

Krafte concluded, "We envision this relationship will help us to expedite development of new assays on the platform in response to customer demand including some of the challenging drug discovery targets that our clients often present to us. We anticipate that our relationship with Nanion and development of experience with the platform will further our goal of becoming the first choice in the industry for drug discovery solutions in the ion channel space."

To see examples of assays for this platform click here

About Nanion
Nanion Technologies was founded in 2002 as a spin-off from the University of Munich, Center for Nanoscience (CeNS). Over the last 14 years it has grown to a strong company with over 100 employees worldwide. Nanion has its headquarters in Munich, Germany, and has daughter companies in the USA, Japan and China, with distribution partners in 7 other countries. Nanion has been recognized for its quality and innovation by being twice nominated for the Federal President's Award for Technology and Innovation (Deutscher Zukunftspreis) in 2007 and 2014. The company has become known for its high quality instruments for ion channel research (Port-a-Patch, Patchliner and SyncroPatch product families) and has over the years expanded its product range to include cardiotoxicity screening (CardioExcyte 96), parallel bilayer recordings (Orbit 16), and parallel membrane transporter protein recordings (SURFE2R). Since 2014, Nanion carries Axion's multi-electrode array (MEA) systems in Europe and China.  For more information on our company, please visit our website at www.naniontech.com

About Icagen, Inc.
Icagen partners with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to offer industry-leading scientific expertise and comprehensive access to technologies for ion channel and transporter drug discovery and development. With over 20 years of leadership in the ion channel field, the Icagen team offers an extensive track record of success in advancing molecules from drug discovery to clinical development across multiple therapeutic areas and ion channel classes. Icagen's growing tool box comprises a broad range of cell lines and technologies for ion channel and transporter research, capped by the label-free XRpro® platform.  XRpro® technology, based on X-ray fluorescence, is a novel method that enables high throughput assessment of ion channels and transporters, including challenging systems with high therapeutic interest.  For more information on our company, please visit our website at www.icagen.com.

Forward Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 In some cases forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "should," "potential," "continue," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions, and include statements regarding the methods covered by the patent allowing us to identify unique markers ofhuman disease progression as well as potentially allowing us to identify novel therapeutic targets for our partners' efforts to discover and develop next-generation drugs and our growing tool box. These statements are based upon current beliefs, expectations and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and include statements regarding our ability to achieve the desired results with the patent and our ability to continue to grow our tool box. The forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in the Company's forward-looking statements include, among others, our ability to successfully combine the acquired assets and the Icagen team with the prior XRpro team and technology and the other factors described in the Company's Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, and our other filings with the SEC. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release on account of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

For further information, contact:

Richard Cunningham
President & CEO
rcunningham@icagen.com

Douglas Krafte, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
dkrafte@icagen.com

Icagen, Inc.
4222 Emperor Blvd.
Suite 350
Durham, NC 27703
+1 (919) 941-5206

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SOURCE Icagen, Inc.