Collaboration objectives include a mix of applications and new product development, as well as establishing a key demonstration centre for high content screening (HCS) in Europe
The Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), located in Dresden, Germany, and Cellomics, a unit of Fisher Biosciences, recently announced a joint collaboration in the field of high content screening (HCS).
The institute serves as a hub for numerous academic-industry collaborations in the field of HCS for drug discovery.
Cellomics says it is recognised as the creator of HCS and is the market leader in the field.
Cellomics provides a unique cell-based platform for its global clients in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and academic institutions.
"We have always put a great effort in building bridges between academia and the industry," says Ivan Baines, scientific coordinator and director of services and facilities at MPI-CBG.
"Working with a leader in a given technology provides unique opportunities to make new discoveries.
"Cellomics is a leader in high content screening instruments and applications - an area where we are very active having recently established a major assay development and screening facility.
"We anticipate a highly productive collaboration and are delighted to be working with Cellomics".
According to Daniel Calvo, president of Cellomics, the collaboration objectives include a mix of applications and new product development, as well as establishing a key demonstration centre for Europe.
"Max Planck is a perfect partner for us," stated Calvo.
"It has tremendous experience and capabilities in this area and its strong ties to key academic centres across Europe are a real plus.
"This collaboration will provide valuable input to help drive the development of our product and applications portfolio for the growing academic market".
As part of the agreement, MPI-MCBG has purchased the Cellomics ArrayScan VTI HCS reader along with its complete portfolio of Bioapplications and HCi informatics software.
The Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) is one of 78 institutes of the Max Planck Society, an independent, non-profit organisation in Germany.
MPI-CBG was founded in 1998 and since February 2001, scientists from over 30 nations have been working under one roof.
The Institute has a core staff of about 350 scientists, which form a network of 24 research groups covering different topics at the interface of cell biology and developmental biology including research investigating illnesses such as cancer or Alzheimer's disease.
For example, at the MPI-CBG researchers study how the growth of cells is controlled and why this control process fails to function properly in cancer cells.
Once science has an understanding of how cellular control systems work, currently incurable illnesses may be diagnosed earlier with a view to developing more effective treatments.
The MPI-CBG has forged partnerships with technology providers in many of its major areas of research since it believes that the greatest insight and new discoveries are made when innovations in new technologies allow problems in research to be addressed or investigated in new ways.
