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June 11, 2013 -- TTP Labtech, global developer and manufacturer of innovative, high quality, automated laboratory equipment, has signed an agreement with Dart NeuroScience, LLC (DNS), a specialised pharmaceutical company, to supply its modular compound storage and retrieval systems, comPOUND® and comPILER®. The platform will enable the safe, long-term storage of the newly formed and rapidly expanding DNS small molecule compound libraries, supporting the company’s quest to discover innovative drugs and targeted therapies for life-long cognitive vitality and the treatment of memory disorders.
Through strong investment in its internal and external programs, DNS is driving new scientific discovery with some of the leading experts in this field. Its unique approach originated from scientific findings at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory that identified the genes controlling fruit fly memory. By extending the functional links of these genes to the memory of mammals, DNS has been able to apply new and advanced methodologies to identify small molecular drugs from mammalian targets. The group is screening newly discovered gene targets involved with memory formation against small molecule compounds in order to identify those that enhance or inhibit their biochemical activity. This is allowing DNS to fill its pipeline with exciting drug candidates for new targeted therapies and memory enhancers. By utilising its integrated teams of structural biologists, medicinal chemists, production and purification specialists, the organisation aims to apply its target-based molecule design to create and store up to 100,000 compounds a year.
“We are delighted to announce TTP Labtech as the chosen supplier of our compound management solution. We are investing heavily in our IP portfolio and developing our own proprietary compounds in-house. As such, identifying a secure solution that will ensure compound integrity and guarantee the protection of this investment has been paramount,” commented Jose Quiroz, Manager of Laboratory Systems at Dart NeuroScience.
With a small footprint, fast automated operation and a flexible, modular design, comPOUND will prove a sturdy investment for the DNS team. “We know that TTP Labtech’s comPOUND-comPILER platform will provide the exceptional long-term storage and tube-to-plate processing capabilities that we require,” Quiroz said.
Scalability and future proofing was also a key factor for the group at DNS. “We are starting with three comPOUNDs and one comPILER system, but with the scope to integrate up to ten comPOUND stores simultaneously with our comPILER platform, we can sensibly amortize our investment. This is something that is not possible with a big integrated store requiring a significant capital outlay. Instead, we can effectively grow our library and our storage facilities in parallel - this is very appealing to us.”
James Craven, Product Manager for sample storage at TTP Labtech, described the new agreement as “collaborative” and a great example of the unique approach that the company brings to its sales process. “We’ve worked closely with the screening and compound management teams at DNS for a number of years, supplying other products such as our mosquito and acumen, and were keen to help them find a future-proofed compound management system,” he said. “By working very closely alongside the DNS team, we could propose a comPOUND-comPILER set-up coupled with our pneumatic tube transport system, lab2lab, with everything working seamlessly together to meet their unique requirements and objectives.”
Craven continued: “We have customers with comPOUNDs that have been in place for over ten years. The plug-and-play storage units have been relocated across facilities and reinstalled on new continents as the global screening needs of the company have evolved. This makes for a sensible investment, and we tend to find that our systems are never left redundant. Our robust technology offers innovative operation and long term sample viability, making comPOUND a smart long-term investment.”
About Dart NeuroScience
Dart NeuroScience, LLC (DNS) is a Delaware company formed in 2007, dedicated to the discovery of new technologies and therapies to help maintain life-long cognitive vitality. DNS’s mission is to become the leading specialized pharmaceutical company for memory disorders by focusing on the development of innovative drugs with new mechanisms of action. These discoveries are based on an in-depth understanding and continual examination of the genes involved in the reorganization of synaptic connections in the brain, a cellular/molecular process which underlies both implicit (motor skills) and explicit (facts and events) forms of memory.
DNS has extended the functional links of these genes to memory in mammals and has grown its IP portfolio considerably with new methodologies to identify small molecular drugs from mammalian targets. Through this identification and validation of genes involved with mammalian memory formation, DNS is able to perform high throughput screens of these targets for compounds that enhance or inhibit biochemical activity to discover new therapeutic memory enhancers for development and clinical trial.
Based in San Diego, California, the company aims to continue its growth to more than 250 employees and will soon be moving to its new facility at Scripps Ranch.
For more information about the Dart NeuroScience organization, please visithttp://www.dartneuroscience.com or e-mail info@dartneuroscience.com.
About TTP Labtech
From its global headquarters based near Cambridge, UK, TTP Labtech creates, designs and manufactures robust, reliable and easy-to-use instrumentation to offer life scientists better tools and techniques, simplifying complex operations, saving time and material costs.
We provide state-of-the-art solutions developed for specific product areas including: cell-based screening (acumen®, mirrorball®); sample management (comPOUND®), low volume liquid handling (mosquito®) and the management of analytical automation (lab2lab).
TTP Labtech is owned by its employees, and our continued drive to innovate combines cutting edge science with first rate engineering, manufacturing and outstanding customer support.
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