Press Release

Media Contact Info:

Steve Blose, V.P. of Sales & Marketing
Digilab, Inc., 84 October Hill Road, Holliston, MA 01746
Tel. 508-893-3130 Fax. 508-893-8011

Paul Smith, VP Corporate Development
Axela Inc., 50 Ronson Drive Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M9W 1B3
Phone: 416-798-1625 Fax: 416-798-8635

 

Digilab to Market Axela’s Multiplex Biomarker Analysis Platforms in the US

Holliston, Massachusetts, USA / Toronto, Ontario, Canada, August 2nd, 2011.

Digilab, Inc., a provider of instrumentation and software that accelerates discovery research through automation of sample processing and analysis and Axela, Inc., an innovator of platforms for the validation and analysis of multiplexed gene and protein biomarkers, announced that they have signed an agreement on Digilab’s marketing of Axela’s instruments in the US.

Under the agreement Digilab will market new versions of both of Axela’s proprietary flow through technologies. The Ziplex system for gene and protein expression analysis utilizes porous array technology to fully automate hybridization/binding, washing, imaging and data analysis without operator intervention. The dotLab® mX system employs label free sensing to perform real-time immunoassay directly in complex samples. The platforms offer robust, rapid assays in easy to use formats.

“Many of Digilab’s proteomic and genomic customers are looking to validate their biomarker panels as a next step in their research. By partnering with Axela, we can offer complete solutions from discovery to routine analysis, across a broad range of multiplex requirements,” said Joe Griffin, President of Digilab. “As part of the rapidly growing biomarker segment, we see product and application synergies in academic and clinical research, pharmaceutical discovery and diagnostic development laboratories.”

“We are excited at the opportunity to leverage Digilab’s strong market position in sample prep, automation and analysis tools for the genomic and proteomic discovery markets. Introduction of these innovative multiplex platforms comes at a time when there is tremendous demand for simpler and more robust approaches to validation and implementation of biomarker signatures,” commented Paul Smith, VP Corporate Development at Axela. “

The new offerings include two unique products.

The dotLab® mX System: a patented, flow based, diffractive optics technology that enables real time detection of binding events and full characterization of targets through sequential probing. This provides significant analytical advantages for assay development and low multiplex – information rich assays. The Ziplex® System: an automated processing system that includes a patented, micro-porous substrate technology, the Flow-Thru Chip®, that allows rapid and efficient binding or hybridization of targets. It is ideally suited for high multiplex content (500 features) and high throughput settings.

The Ziplex® System performs highly multiplexed gene expression assays with superior reproducibility, speed, lower sample requirements and cost vs. conventional microarray- or PCR-based systems.  The dotLab® System performs real time multiplex protein measurements with a flexibility that is unachievable with any other commercially available product.

About Digilab, Inc.
Digilab, Inc. provides imaginative, value-adding solutions for scientific discovery in life sciences, analytical chemistry, and diagnostics markets.  Products span DNA sample preparation systems for sequencing, protein and DNA micro arrayers, live cell arrayers, proteome preparation systems, nano & micro fluidic handling, and Raman compound identification. Digilab is identified by- and built on- the excellent reputation of its acquired brands including Genomic Solutions, Investigator, GeneMachines, Cartesian Dispensing Systems, BioRobotics, SpectraCode, and Maia Scientific. In addition, Digilab has developed its own live cell printer, the CellJet, and high throughput screening Raman reader, the Identity. These brands have well established global presence from the thousands of customers worldwide. For more information, visit www.digilabglobal.com.

About Axela, Inc.
Axela’s platforms provide powerful new approaches to multiplexed DNA, RNA and protein analysis designed to greatly simplify biomarker testing in clinical research and diagnostics. Axela’s commercial research products significantly improve the amount and quality of information derived from traditional assays. This approach shortens time to result and provides access to unique categories of markers that form a pipeline of future diagnostic offerings. Toronto based Axela has an extensive portfolio of patents and applications and its major investor is VenGowth Private Equity Partners Inc. For more information, visit http://www.axela.com/

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