Corning has announced the opening of its Epic Applications Centres which will provide product demonstrations and support services to Corning Epic system customers
The two centres, located in Big Flats, NY, and Fontainebleau, France, give pharmaceutical and biotechnology researchers the opportunity to evaluate the Corning Epic system before purchasing the label-free platform and to receive comprehensive product support after the system has been installed.
The Epic system, commercially available since September 2006, is a high-throughput label-free screening platform based on optical biosensor technology.
The system performs both biochemical and cell-based drug discovery applications and offers drug developers the ability to evaluate promising new drug targets.
It also allows for the observation of direct biological interactions not previously detectable in high-throughput applications.
The system uses optical technology to eliminate the need for labels and consists of two basic components: a disposable 384-well microplate with integrated biosensors and a high-throughput screening (HTS) compatible microplate reader that permits screening of up to 40,000 wells in an eight-hour period.
The Epic system can be easily integrated with existing facilities and instrumentation because it makes use of an industry standard microplate format.
The high sensitivity of the Epic system makes it suitable for a broad range of drug discovery applications, including both biochemical and cell-based assays.
To assist in evaluating this novel platform's performance, the Epic Applications Centers will provide customers with an opportunity to collaborate with a team of internal applications scientists in order to conduct short proof assays.
Designed to demonstrate the system's capabilities, these assays will allow the researchers to observe how their particular assay models behave on the Epic system.
Customers will have the option of working with either a stand-alone unit or a unit that is integrated with external robotics equipment.
This arrangement not only allows customers to experience first-hand the potential time and cost savings associated with this label-free system, but also gives them the opportunity to plan for integration of the platform within their own laboratory environment.
After a customer has purchased an Epic system, the researcher will have continued access to the internal applications scientists as well as field applications scientists who work closely with the customers in their own labs.
The internal applications scientists will not only provide customers with new application protocols, but will also provide additional support by collaborating with the network of field applications scientists.
By helping the customer optimise new assay techniques as they explore various novel assays on the Epic platform, the application scientists enable the customer to experience improvements in productivity, thereby potentially accelerating the development of promising new drugs.
"Our previous experience with our Alpha and Beta customers tells us that researchers truly appreciate the ability to work alongside our scientists as they not only learn about the platform, but also experiment with new assay models and protocols," said Mark Beck, vice president and general manager, Corning Life Sciences.
"Corning is committed to ensuring our customers' success in using the technology to develop and conduct their experiments, and with the establishment of these centers, we will continue to enable breakthrough discoveries by our customers." Both Epic Applications Centers are scheduled to begin product demonstrations in January 2007.
