By employing a separation-based approach, Nanostream says it has the capability to develop a variety of challenging assays including kinase assays, lipid-modifying enzyme assays and protease assays
Nanostream, a provider of products and services to increase productivity in laboratories at pharmaceutical and biotech companies, launches a new services organisation to deliver assay development services and customised solutions for screening labs.
Nanostream is entering the drug discovery services market based on the growing need for pharmaceutical and biotech companies to outsource costly aspects of the drug discovery process, including assay development, optimization and qualification.
By employing a separation-based approach to developing assays, Nanostream has the capability to develop a variety of challenging assays including kinase assays, lipid-modifying enzyme assays and protease assays.
The company's technology, the Nanostream LD System, serves as a single platform for assays throughout the entire screening process - from target characterisation through lead optimisation.
This platform affords direct measurement of enzyme activity and rapid IC50 determination.
"The pharmaceutical industry continues to explore ways to reduce costs and conserve resources, so there is a growing trend for scientists to outsource drug discovery processes.
"Assay development is a critical area that is typically time and labor intensive with traditional methods often yielding ambiguous results, " said Stephen O'Connor, CEO, Nanostream.
"With our separation-based assay detection platform, we can develop our customers' most difficult assays and deliver unmatched qualitative and quantitative data results in a rapid timeframe".
Jonas Ekblom brings an extensive background in pharmacology and drug discovery including over 15 years of combined academia and industry experience to his role as chief operating officer at Nanostream.
He has a strong track record in strategic R+D management and leading cross-functional expert teams.
As COO, he will spearhead Nanostream's entry into the drug discovery services market and oversee management of the organisation.
"Jonas has a wealth of knowledge in biochemical assays and proven success in helping customers improve efficiencies and adopt new technologies to speed drug discovery, " continued O'Connor.
"We are excited to have him join our management team and drive our assay development services.
"Under his leadership, I am confident that his team will provide exceptional, highly customised services to our growing customer base." Ekblom joins the company from Invitrogen, where he was head of the global programme and portfolio management group.
Prior to his role at Invitrogen, he served as director of drug discovery at Sequenom.
Ekblom has held senior management positions at Pharmacia, and was a cofounder of Biovitrum in 2000 and Anaborex in 2004.
At Biovitrum, he was responsible for the corporate in vitro pharmacology function and was responsible for the build-up of the company's HTS facility.
Ekblom has published more than 50 articles and holds a position as associate professor in pharmacology at Uppsala University in Sweden.
He received a BS from the University of Stockholm and a PhD in experimental neurology at Uppsala University.
