Invitrogen
Selects SSi Robotics FLASH™
Platform for Advanced Automation System
Tustin,
CA, January 23, 2006 —
SSi Robotics today announced that Invitrogen Corporation chose SSi Robotics to
design and build a FLASH™ system
that would integrate various instrumentation for Invitrogen’s SelectScreen™
Profiling and Screening Services Platform. Invitrogen’s service offering helps
overcome recognized bottlenecks in drug discovery by providing timely,
cost-effective determination of the inhibitory profile and mechanism of action
of lead drug compounds. The system is scheduled for delivery and installation in
April, 2006.
“We
chose to move forward
with the SSi Robotics FLASH™
system to meet our expanding SelectScreen™
services and the demands for advanced automation. We considered numerous vendors
to provide a fully integrated compound management system capable of cherry
picking, serial diluting, and arraying compounds,”
said Tammy Turek-Etienne, HTS Manager of Invitrogen’s SelectScreen™
Services. “As our services business continues to grow, utilizing SSi’s
innovative automation solutions will increase our throughput capabilities,
ultimately benefiting our screening customers.”
“We
are delighted that Invitrogen found SSi Robotics provided them the best options
for its compound management needs,” said Paul Smith, President of SSi
Robotics. “Our FLASH™ 6-axis
automation system provides both dynamic and static scheduling as well as data
management in a customized configuration designed to meet each customer’s
unique processes.”
Invitrogen’s SelectScreen™
platform integrates industry leading target class content and state-of-the-art
bioassay technologies to support lead discovery and optimization programs. Invitrogen’s
expertise in protein kinase biology is the foundation of the
SelectScreen™ service platform, which now offers pharmaceutical and
biotechnology companies around the world the opportunity to screen lead
compounds, SAR series or focused libraries against more than 193 kinases in less
than two weeks.
“In
2006 we will continue to build our collaborative screening capabilities to
better support and align with our customer’s discovery workflows” said
Chris Armstrong, Director, Customer Programs at Invitrogen Drug Discovery
Solutions. “This investment in our SelectScreen™ platform will enable us to
achieve this through expansion of our kinase screening programs and through the
launch of novel screening services.”
###
SSi Robotics (DBA for Simmpro Systems, Inc.) is a privately held company
based in
Tustin
,
California
. SSi provides automation products
and OEM equipment engineering / manufacturing services for the life science
markets. SSi's core product line includes the FLASH™
– Flexible Lab Automation System/Handler.
FLASH™
performs microplate and tube based processes and serves as an automation
platform for lab instrument integration. By
integrating the necessary lab instruments, the FLASH™
systems perform a wide range of processes including labeling, capping,
dispensing, dynamic and static scheduling, high-throughput screening, storage
and retrieval, cherry picking, serial dilution, arraying, reformatting, etc.
The company provides general industrial automation services as well
utilizing the SSi team’s strengths in electrical/mechanical engineering,
software development, manufacturing and biological/medical/pharmaceutical
process analysis. SSi is ISO 9001
and ISO 13485 (medical) certified,
GMP
Compliant and FDA Registered. The firm's certifications, design controls
and experienced staff enable the company to manufacture medical devices,
hospital automation systems, clinical diagnostic equipment, clinical trial
automation systems and other highly regulated products. The firm has a
600-machine installed base with many systems in use and supported by the SSi
team 24 hours per day, 7 days per week at Fortune 500 companies worldwide.
For more
information about SSi Robotics and its FLASH™
product or to download a photograph of the FLASH™
visit:
http://www.ssirobotics.com/
http://www.ssirobotics.com/images/flash-photo.jpg
