PharmaSeq Receives Government Grant to Develop Advanced Analytical Instrument
Monmouth Junction, NJ, June 23, 2006. PharmaSeq announced today the receipt of the Phase II SBIR grant for the project entitled "Flow Instrument for Two-color Assay on Microtransponders". The grant was awarded by the National Center of Research Resource of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The purpose of the grant is to build an advanced analytical instrument capable of reading microtranponders in any multiplex assay developed by PharmaSeq. The readout is performed in a fluidics environment.
Dr. Wlodek Mandecki, President of PharmaSeq, commented: "This grant constitutes an important milestone for the Company as it will allow us to significantly advance the microtransponder technology in bioassays. At the same time, the award is a recognition by a leading medical institution, NIH, of our pioneering efforts to advance healthcare, and in particular, in vitro diagnostic methods".
PharmaSeq, a biotechnology company based near Princeton, New Jersey, has developed laser light-powered microchips and related high-speed reading instruments for application in genomics, proteomics, and cell-based assays. Microtransponders are the smallest, externally powered, integrated circuits capable of radio frequency transmission ever made, measuring only 250 or 500 microns across. Each microtransponder is composed of photocells, antenna and memory to store information that identifies the specific features of the biological material, such as cells, attached to the chip. In the assay, cells are stained with a fluorescent dye and fluorescence intensity is quantified in a flow-based instrument, which also reads the ID of the chip. The microchips, as well as the instrumentation to read the chips, have been built by PharmaSeq. PharmaSeq has also demonstrated several nucleic acid and protein-based assays on microtransponders.
For further information, please contact Dr. Richard Morris, CEO, or Dr. Wlodek Mandecki, President, at (732) 355-0100 ext 11.
PharmaSeq, Inc.
11 Deer Park Drive, Suite 104
Monmouth Junction, NJ 08852Find us on the web at: www.pharmaseq.com.