Boston, MA and Hayward, CA – September 9, 2010 – Cisbio U.S., Inc. (www.htrf.com), a member of IBA group and global developer of HTRF® (Homogeneous Time-Resolved Fluorescence) technology and services used in assay development and drug screening, and Multispan, Inc., which focuses exclusively on drug discovery research in G-Protein Coupled Receptors (GPCRs), today announced that they have entered into an agreement whereby Cisbio will distribute Multispan’s portfolio of cell lines in the United States. The collaboration between the two companies offers a new supply source of cell lines to pharmaceutical and biotechnology researchers for functional assay development in GPCR drug discovery.
Multispan’s cell line platform of over 320 human and 209 rodent expression-ready cDNAs and 240 stable cell lines expresses GPCRs in their native forms and enables comprehensive investigation of effects of drug candidates on downstream signaling of each GPCR. Cisbio will make the cell lines available to customers alongside its comprehensive technological platform for GPCR screening and cell surface receptor investigation. GPCRs are one of the most studied targets in drug discovery research as they are involved in every aspect of human physiology, including sleep regulation, blood pressure, mood, food intake, perception of pain, control of cancer growth and immune response.
“As a service- and customer-oriented company, Cisbio strives to ensure seamless adoption of GPCR-related tools and technologies, such as cAMP, IP-One and Tag-lite®,” said Glenn Knapik, managing director of Cisbio U.S. “The addition of Multispan’s products to our portfolio now provides a one-stop-shop for cell lines and functional assays that is supported by Cisbio’s hands-on team of scientific consultants.”
“Multispan is dedicated to maximizing its GPCR offering through strategic partnerships with like-minded, quality- and service-driven companies in the drug discovery area,” said Dr. Helena Mancebo, CEO of Multispan. “Our goal is for our broad range of cell lines to reach as many researchers as possible to speed up their assay development process, and we look forward to growing this product offering with Cisbio through our combined efforts.”
About Cisbio Bioassays and IBA group
Cisbio Bioassays is a global developer of products and technologies used for in vitro diagnostics and assay development for drug screening procedures. The company pioneered the field of homogenous fluorescence methodologies via its proprietary technology, HTRF®, a highly sensitive, robust technology for the detection of molecular interactions and widely used by the pharmaceutical industry for the high throughput screening stage of drug development. In addition, Cisbio Bioassays produces a selection of biological reagents and methods used by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as contract research organizations (CROs). Headquartered in Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France, with facilities in Bedford, MA, U.S.A. and a network of distributors worldwide, Cisbio Bioassays is a member of the Belgium-based IBA group. IBA develops and markets leading edge technologies, pharmaceuticals and tailor-made solutions for healthcare with a focus on cancer diagnosis and therapy. Leveraging on its scientific expertise, IBA is also active in the field of industrial sterilization and ionization. Listed on the pan-European stock exchange EURONEXT, IBA is included in the BelMid Index. (IBA: Reuters IBAB.BR and Bloomberg IBAB.BB).
Please visit www.htrf.com and www.iba-worldwide.com for more information about Cisbio Bioassays and IBA.
HTRF® and Tag-lite® are registered trademarks of Cisbio Bioassays.
About Multispan
Multispan Inc. is a San Francisco Bay Area-based biotechnology company focused exclusively on GPCRs, a most important protein class of therapeutic targets. Privately held, and founded in 2004, Multispan has created the industry’s largest collection of human GPCR clones and has engineered a large collection of assay-ready GPCR-expressing cell lines, including the proprietary HEx(TM) series of High Expression cell lines. For further information, please visit the Multispan website (www.multispaninc.com).
Media Contacts: Christina Aplington Ballou PR for Cisbio Bioassays + 33 (0)1 42 22 93 65 christina@balloupr.com
Helena Mancebo, Ph.D. CEO, Multispan Inc. +1-510-887-0817 Helena.mancebo@multispaninc.com
