HOPKINTON, Mass., Dec. 7, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Caliper Life Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CALP), a leading provider of tools and services for drug discovery and life sciences research, today announced that the company has received the remaining balance of the compound library for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Phase II ToxCast screening program.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the next phase of toxicity screening, in which a total of 1,000 chemicals (300 compounds in Phase 1 and 700 additional compounds in Phase II) will be screened as part of EPA’s ToxCast initiative. Caliper’s participation in this program, first announced in 2007, involves the application of extensive and diverse proprietary assay and screening technologies.
“The Caliper team is very pleased with our contributions to ToxCast to date, and we’re excited to receive the remaining compounds (350 Phase IIb compounds) for the EPA’s Phase II ToxCast screening program,” said Kevin Hrusovsky, President and CEO of Caliper Life Sciences. “Receiving this most recent compound set will allow our scientists to complete Phase IIb compound screening over the next several months, and will likely push Caliper’s revenue to the top end of our corporate revenue guidance range for the fourth quarter and full year.”
The ToxCast program was initiated to speed up the identification of potentially toxic compounds and the impact of chemical exposure on the human body. The program relies on innovative research approaches that predict toxicity while minimizing reliance on animal models. Caliper Discovery Alliances and Services’ (CDAS) predictive toxicity panel has been used in the EPA ToxCast screening program, and increasingly by pharmaceutical, agricultural and cosmetic companies, to assess potential chemical toxicity of their compounds in commercial development. The EPA recently announced the screening of 1,000 chemicals under the ToxCast program.
The CDAS assays use human and animal proteins which mediate key biological functions in the body to screen for possible adverse or toxic effects of chemicals. Caliper recently initiated testing of the second half of the 700 chemicals that comprise Phase II of the ToxCast screening program through the CDAS in vitro panel, which includes over 230 such assays.
Many of the chemicals being tested in the ToxCast program are components of industrial and consumer products, as well as agrichemicals and pharmaceuticals, which were previously tested for in vivo toxicity using live animals. By comparing the in vitro data being generated by CDAS under the ToxCast program with the known in vivo effects of these ToxCast library compounds, the predictive potential of the in vitro assays can be determined. The EPA is tasked with testing thousands of compounds and chemicals each year, which has led to a significant backlog in the regulatory approval process. The goal of the ToxCast program is to reduce the EPA’s dependence on expensive and lengthy animal testing and implement solutions that enable faster identification of harmful chemicals at a lower cost and with higher accuracy.
For additional details about the current status of EPA ToxCast program, please visit the EPA news announcement “EPA Screens 1,000 Chemicals Using ToxCast” at http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/73ec2518e34bc93d852577eb0060dd7c!OpenDocument.
About Caliper Life Sciences
Caliper Life Sciences is a premier provider of cutting-edge technologies enabling researchers in the life sciences industry to create life-saving and enhancing medicines and diagnostic tests more quickly and efficiently. Caliper is aggressively innovating new technology to bridge the gap between in vitro assays and in vivo results, enabling the translation of those results into cures for human disease. Caliper’s portfolio of offerings includes state-of-the-art microfluidics, lab automation and liquid handling, optical imaging technologies, and discovery and development outsourcing solutions. For more information please visit www.caliperLS.com.
The statements in this press release regarding future events, including statements regarding Caliper’s expectation that its revenue for the fourth quarter and full year 2010 will be at the top end of its previously announced guidance, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including that unanticipated difficulties may be encountered in Caliper’s fulfillment of its obligations under the EPA ToxCast program. Further information on risks faced by Caliper are detailed under the caption “Risks Related To Our Business” in Caliper’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009. Our filings are available on a web site maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov. Caliper does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking or other statements in this release or the conference call.
Caliper is a trademark of Caliper Life Sciences, Inc. ToxCast is a trademark of the Environmental Protection Agency.
SOURCE Caliper Life Sciences, Inc.
