FULLERTON, Calif., April 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Beckman Coulter, Inc. has entered into a collaborative research and development agreement with the Research in Immune Tolerance in Transplantation (RITT) program. The research will be conducted in the RITT Industrial Biodevelopment Laboratory at the Toronto General Hospital (University Health Network) in Toronto, Canada. The RITT program is a new $10 million initiative in the research arm of the Multi Organ Transplant Program (North America's third largest transplant program). It has been funded jointly by the Canadian federal government (Canadian Foundation for Innovation), the province of Ontario (Ontario Research Foundation), and the Toronto General Hospital. The two-year agreement between Beckman Coulter, Inc. and the RITT program will commence April, 2006.
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This agreement represents a combined effort by Beckman Coulter's Custom Biopharma Solutions and Services' staff and the RITT program to advance the development and translation of academic sciences into industry. Beckman Coulter will also receive first rights for new discoveries made as a result of this collaboration. In return, Beckman Coulter will support a post doctoral research scientist position for the two year period, provide funding for the design and formulation of new and unique reagent combinations, sponsor an annual symposium on the subject of transplantation, provide semi-annual workshops on centrifugation safety and operation, and assist the RITT program in securing additional funding to continue the program beyond the two year agreement.
In a separate transaction, the RITT program has agreed to acquire over $1 million of separation and analysis equipment from Beckman Coulter, including ProteomeLab PF2D, ProteomeLab PA800, Cell Lab A2 Microarray, Vi-Cell XR, and a full spectrum of centrifugation systems.
"Dr. Gary Levy, the director of the Multi Organ Transplant Program and the RITT program, is a world renowned leader in the field of organ transplantation. He and his team of eminent scientists have made seminal discoveries in transplantation that have set the standards of practice in the clinic," said Elias Caro, executive vice president of International Diagnostics and Global Life Sciences Commercial Operations for Beckman Coulter. "By collaborating with the RITT program, we can broaden our already extensive product line for the study of immune monitoring and patient care and help position ourselves for leadership in providing genomic, proteomic and cellular solutions for the transplantation market."
"Better management of tolerance in transplantation will result in a decrease in the loss of transplanted organs and increase the quality of life for the recipients," said Levy. "Additionally, it will significantly reduce the cost associated with failed organ transplants by using tolerance assays that identify concerns prior to organ damage."
Beckman Coulter, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of biomedical testing instrument systems, tests and supplies that simplify and automate laboratory processes. Spanning the biomedical testing continuum -- from pioneering medical research and clinical trials to laboratory diagnostics and point-of-care testing -- Beckman Coulter's 200,000 installed systems provide essential biomedical information to enhance health care around the world. The company, based in Fullerton, California, reported 2005 annual sales of $2.44 billion with 71.5 percent of this amount generated by recurring revenue from supplies, test kits, services and operating-type lease payments. For more information, visit www.beckmancoulter.com.
Contact: Paul Whitlock Robert Raynor, Ph.D. (Investors) Beckman Coulter, Inc. Beckman Coulter, Inc. (714) 773 8895 (714) 773-7620 pwwhitlock@beckmancoulter.comrraynor@beckmancoulter.com
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031202/BECLOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.orgPRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.comBeckman Coulter, Inc.CONTACT: Paul Whitlock, +1-714-773 8895, pwwhitlock@beckmancoulter.com; orInvestors, Robert Raynor, Ph.D., +1-714-773-7620,rraynor@beckmancoulter.com, both of Beckman Coulter, Inc.
Web site: http://www.beckmancoulter.com//
