February 26, 2008 — /PRNewswire/ — BURLINGTON, MA — Hyaluron Contract Manufacturing (HCM), a leading provider of pharmaceutical development services, continued to expand its business in 2007 with revenues increasing greater than 75 percent and staffing increasing greater than 60 percent to support past and anticipated future growth. Additionally, HCM acquired additional space at its Burlington, MA facility to expand its analytical chemistry, microbiology, and engineering laboratories, as well as to provide additional manufacturing capacity.

“We are very proud of our recent growth,” Shawn Kinney, president of HCM states. “It’s a reflection of our ongoing commitment to continuous improvements and to providing high quality products and services to our customers.”

HCM has continued to strengthen its management team with the appointment of Susan McNamara to the newly created position of director of quality, Christopher Paolillo to the position of director of contract administration and legal affairs, and other key hires.

Susan McNamara has over seventeen years of experience in the biotechnology industry, bringing novel recombinant proteins into clinical and commercial production. Before joining HCM, McNamara was associate director, QC microbiology at Wyeth Biotech. Prior to that, McNamara was employed by Fisons Pharmaceuticals and SmithKline.

Christopher Paolillo has over twenty-seven years of experience as corporate counsel and as an attorney in private practice and with the office of Air Force Judge Advocate. He brings to HCM substantial experience in contracts, licensing, intellectual property, and commercial transactions. Prior to HCM, Paolillo was employed by ACI Worldwide (formerly P&H Solutions) as vice president and corporate counsel.

Located in Burlington, MA, HCM has been offering aseptic formulation and filling services to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. At the core of HCM’s business is a commitment to quality, regulatory compliance, and on-time delivery.

Visit www.hyaluron.com

February 25, 2008 — /PRNewswire/ — LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND — Synova, the world pioneer and patent holder of water jet-guided laser technology, today announced it has joined a research alliance led by Europe’s largest solar research organization, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), to explore new manufacturing methods that will both speed processing and improve the performance of solar cells. Comprising industry leaders whose offerings span the photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing spectrum — from raw materials to finished cells — the alliance is investigating the use of Synova’s Laser MicroJet^R (LMJ) technology with liquids other than pure water to prove LMJ’s viability for wafering and microstructuring applications. Specifically, the alliance is exploring LMJ for laser chemical processing (LCP), an approach that extends beyond laser chemical etching to other processes, first published by ISE in 2001 at the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference (EUPVSEC) in Munich.

Through this concerted research effort, the alliance members expect to produce a superior alternative to conventional lasers, chemical processes, diamond blade saws, and multi-wire slurry saws, aimed to increase solar cell efficiency while lowering overall cell cost. While conventional lasers have yielded the most promising results for these processes to date, Synova’s LMJ — a proven entity in the IC market due to its manufacturing and end-device performance advantages — can take these benefits even further. Its “wet” approach offers improved cell integrity by eliminating heat and silicon surface damage, as well as contamination from the process debris associated with “dry” lasers. Given LMJ’s advantages coupled with the use of chemicals, the alliance is examining LCP’s ability to address a host of PV wafering and microstructuring techniques — grooving, cutting, slicing, doping, etching, isolation, and via drilling to name a few.

Dr. Daniel Kray, head of group, Micro-Patterning and Laser-chemical Technologies within Fraunhofer ISE’s Silicon Solar Cells Department, comments, “The solar industry is evolving rapidly, as are the manufacturing technologies that will enable its continued growth. The institute is committed to effecting progress in this field, and is leveraging Synova’s Laser MicroJet to discover further applications that will help drive continued adoption of solar energy around the world.”

“Teaming with this renowned research institute and the other PV manufacturing leaders will enable Synova to join a collective brain trust that’s unmatched in the industry,” notes Synova CEO Bernold Richerzhagen. “We’re excited by the prospect of exploring new opportunities to extend Laser MicroJet’s capability beyond the progress it has already brought to solar-cell production. Synova is deeply committed to pushing LMJ as far as it can go for the alternative energy space as well as other industries, and we warmly embrace strategic alliances like this to drive technology innovation and adoption.”

The research alliance is in part a follow-on to the preliminary study the institute released in July 2007 on solar-cell edge isolation. After initial collaborative work on applications for the LMJ in the PV industry in 2002, the institute acquired a Synova tool, the Laser Cutting System (LCS) 300, the following year. The alliance’s efforts began to intensify in early 2007, and research is expected to continue through Q1 2009. In supporting the alliance’s research, the institute will install another LMJ machine for this project to be shipped in March.

This collaboration also expands on Synova’s other efforts in the PV market. Last April, the company announced a licensing partnership with leading systems and components supplier Manz Automation that is solely dedicated to developing cost-effective manufacturing equipment for mono- and multi-crystalline solar cells. Following this, the Synova-Manz partnership unveiled an inline laser edge isolation system -the ILE 2400- at the 22nd EUPVSEC in Milan, Italy. Manz will begin accepting orders for this system by June this year.

About Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE)

With a staff of approximately 500, Fraunhofer ISE is the largest solar energy research institute in Europe. The work at the institute ranges from the investigation of scientific and technological fundamentals for solar energy applications, through the development of production technology and prototypes, to the construction of demonstration systems. The institute plans, advises, and provides know-how and technical facilities and services. The institute is a member of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the leading organisation for applied research in Germany, with about 12,500 employees in 80 research establishments.

Visit www.ise.fhg.de

About Synova

Founded in 1997, Synova is the world pioneer and patent holder of Laser MicroJet^R, a state-of-the-art water jet-guided laser technology that combines the advantages of a laser beam and water to address the exacting manufacturing specifications and low cost-of-ownership requirements associated with volume production of semiconductors, flat-panel displays, photovoltaics, medical instrumentation, and automotive devices. Thanks to this innovative technology, Synova is revolutionizing the engineering playing field and fast emerging as the ideal provider for high-precision laser applications in these core markets. Additionally, Synova is satisfying growing demand across diverse markets through strategic licensing partnerships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), end users, and R&D institutes. Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, Synova is a privately held company with subsidiaries located in China, South Korea, Japan, and the United States.

Visit www.synova.ch

February 25, 2008 — /PRNewswire/ — ORLANDO, FL — Today at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2008 Annual Conference & Exhibition, Microsoft Corp. announced the release of its patient safety screening tool (PSST), a software-based solution designed to help healthcare organizations identify potential adverse events that occur during hospitalization. The PSST features a set of indicators that provide information on potential in-hospital complications and adverse events following surgeries and medical procedures.

The first module of this platform available is the patient safety screening tool for sepsis offering. Sepsis is a deadly infection that strikes an estimated 750,000 people annually in the United States alone. Microsoft’s patient safety screening tool for sepsis is being supported and delivered by Microsoft partner Accent on Integration (AOI), a leading systems integrator focused on the healthcare market, with clinical direction from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). Built entirely on the Microsoft platform, the solution leverages Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5, and Microsoft InfoPath (Office 2007 version).

With highly adaptable code that can be modified to any customer environment, the PSST for sepsis is designed to provide rapid implementation with minimal configuration. The solution’s first focus is on tracking sepsis, the 10th leading killer worldwide, but will have the ability to track many other diseases.

“Reducing mortality due to severe sepsis requires an organized process that guarantees the early recognition of the infection, along with the uniform and consistent application of the best evidence-based practices,” says Chris Sullivan, industry solutions director, Microsoft U.S. Health and Life Sciences Group. “The Patient Safety Screening Tool for sepsis can help save lives by monitoring clinical data inputs and dispatching alerts and reminders based on predefined thresholds and pattern matching to facilitate early detection and intervention.”

Early detection of sepsis not only saves lives, it can save money for hospitals and healthcare providers. Today severe sepsis accounts for an estimated 40 percent of total ICU expenditures, or $16.7 billion in the United States alone. Adding to the potential liability for hospitals, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid recently issued a ruling in August 2007 that limits the payment hospitals will receive for certain preventable hospital-acquired infections and serious preventable errors. Sepsis is on the short list for addition to the list of conditions covered starting in 2009.

“The average day in the ICU costs $5,000. Early detection of sepsis can reduce a patient’s length of stay from 15 to 10 days and save the healthcare system $25,000,” says Jason Whiteside, vice president of business development, AOI. “Reducing infection rates also drives consumer demand. That’s because people are increasingly searching for healthcare systems with the highest quality of care.”

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is taking proactive steps against sepsis. VUMC is currently conducting a pilot project in which Microsoft’s PSST for sepsis is assisting with the early detection of the disease. The solution relies on integration with bedside medical equipment data as well as lab and registration data, so that clinical workflow items can be automated to prevent the rise of sepsis. At VUMC, all this information can be communicated to the PSST through an innovative remote patient monitoring solution called Vigilance from Acuitec.

“Even with the years of specialized training physicians receive, it is challenging to see patterns in clinical data amid chaos,” says Dr. John Barwise, assistant professor of anesthesiology and neurosurgery, Division of Critical Care, VUMC. “The early detection and treatment of sepsis requires a number of tests, observations, and decisions to be made in a limited amount of time. Microsoft’s patient safety screening tool is an essential tool in the fight against sepsis. While the initial focus with PSST is early detection of severe sepsis, the tool is flexible to allow for future modules such as MRSA, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and more.”

“The patient safety screening tool is a suite of Microsoft technologies that enable caregiver collaboration and increase patient safety through early detection of severe sepsis in critical care units,” says Randy Fusco, industry technical strategist, Microsoft U.S. Health and Life Sciences Group. “Built on the latest Microsoft platform, PSST can be delivered as a traditional Web-based solution within the hospital or as a software plus services model, providing even more flexibility for provider organizations to deploy solutions focused on patient safety. PSST is a great example of how Microsoft customers can deploy Microsoft Office SharePoint Server to enable automated workflows and ultimately drive improved patient care.”

The patient safety screening tool is part of the Microsoft Connected Health Framework Architecture and Design Blueprint. Launched at last year’s Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) show, the blueprint offers a real-world model for healthcare providers seeking to deploy service-oriented architecture solutions to address increasing pressures on an overburdened and fragmented healthcare system. The Connected Health Framework Architecture and Design Blueprint provides a vendor-agnostic approach for addressing integration and solutions within healthcare organizations. It also offers guidance to help these organizations address key issues such as service delivery capability, capacity, and reliability.

Visit www.accentonintegration.com

About Microsoft in health and life sciences

Microsoft provides standards-based products and technology to help the healthcare and life sciences industries break down information barriers between the disparate IT environments across pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies; physicians and healthcare professionals; provider organizations; government and private-sector employers; health insurers; and consumers. Microsoft’s vision for knowledge-driven health utilizes the company’s market leading technology to help people in the healthcare provider, payer, and life sciences organizations integrate their systems, dramatically enhance collaboration, and increase information sharing and learning, ultimately resulting in the ability to deliver high-quality products and services to patients and consumers worldwide.

Visit www.microsoft.com/healthcare

February 25, 2008 — /WASHINGTON/ — AirInSpace, the leading supplier in the French market of mobile devices that capture and inactivate harmful and resistant biological particles from the air, announced today that it has received FDA clearance to market its PlasmairT2006 by AirInSpace mobile system as a medical device. The same remarkable technology that has been protecting astronauts aboard the International Space Station since 2000 against harmful particulates and microbes is now defending a growing number of hospitals on earth thanks to AirInSpace’s technology. In October 2007, AirInSpace reported that it had closed an $8.5 million (6 million euros) Series “B” round of financing to fuel the company’s expansion into the United States.

“We are extremely pleased that AirInSpace is permitted to introduce its mobile PlasmairT2006 by AirInSpace unit as an FDA cleared medical device,” says Laurent Fullana, CEO of AirInSpace. “This sets us apart from the masses of other mobile air cleaner products in the hospital market that lack this medical device designation. We have something that hospitals all over the world need and want, a mobile unit that catches and inactivates harmful microbes and is substantially more cost-effective than retrofitting hospital building HVAC systems, or even deploying less efficient mobile HEPA filter units that are not able to provide any level of germicidal efficacy.”

AirInSpace also announced that it has appointed Wade Tetsuka as president of its U.S. operations, headquartered in Sterling, VA.

“The healthcare industry is making a full-fledged assault upon combating infections in acute care hospitals,” says Tetsuka. “AirInSpace already has placed this innovative and patented technology in more than 100 hospitals in France to effectively and safely manage air quality, and to help protect patients and staff from airborne pathogens.”

“Now that we have our financial resources in place, we are moving very quickly to penetrate the U.S. market,” adds Laurent Fullana. “Toward that goal, we are extremely pleased that Wade Tetsuka has joined our management team. He has great experience in building a U.S. presence for emerging companies, and we expect him to be a significant force in establishing AirInSpace in the U.S. hospital market.”

Previously, Mr. Tetsuka was president of WaveLight Inc., for whom he established U.S. headquarters and launched direct sales, marketing, field service, and clinical support functions in the United States from 2003 to 2006. His responsibilities included the Allegretto Wave product, which captured a substantial share of the domestic LASIK/refractive surgical procedure market during this timeframe. WaveLight has subsequently been acquired by Alcon, Inc. He also has held executive management positions with Tutogen Medical (U.S.), Inc. and Acoustic Imaging Technologies Corp. (part of the Dornier Medical Group). Early in his career, Mr. Tetsuka was a senior manager for PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

The company’s flagship product is a mobile air-decontamination unit called PlasmairT2006 by AirInSpace. Its performance has been clinically proven to lower airborne biological loads and is now being used to combat nosocomial infection in high-risk areas of more than 100 hospitals and clinics throughout France, including hematology/oncology units and ICUs. The inactivation and germicidal effects of the plasma technology have been demonstrated even against one of the most resistant microorganisms: e.g., Bacillus atrophaeus spores (anthrax surrogate).

Separately, the company announces that it will unveil a new product name for the PlasmairT2006 by AirInSpace for the U.S. market at the upcoming Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC) annual meeting to be held in Denver, CO. in June 2008. The rebranding is designed to help U.S. hospital sites improve patient and staff awareness concerning infection control.

Visit www.airinspace.com

February 25, 2008 — /BUSINESS WIRE/ –HAMILTON, BERMUDA — Foster Wheeler Ltd. (Nasdaq: FWLT) announced today that it has significantly strengthened its position in the biotech and pharmaceutical markets by completing the acquisition of 100 percent of the stock of privately held Biokinetics Inc. from MPA Holdings LP.

This acquisition enables Foster Wheeler to re-establish its position in the North American pharmaceutical market and strengthens its position relative to key U.S. pharmaceutical companies seeking to invest in the U.S. and globally. In addition, this acquisition will provide enhanced capabilities to existing Biokinetics clients.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“The pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and healthcare market is a core market segment for Foster Wheeler and is one in which we are committed to growing our market share,” says Umberto della Sala, president and chief operating officer of Foster Wheeler Ltd. “This acquisition is part of Foster Wheeler’s overall strategy to complement organic growth in our Global Engineering and Construction business with highly targeted acquisitions. This particular transaction enables us to expand our global presence in this sector and further enhance our existing biopharmaceutical skills base. We will be able to deliver comprehensive and responsive capabilities to existing, as well as new, clients anywhere in the world. We have already established an excellent working relationship with Biokinetics and believe that the combination of our two companies’ skills and experience will add value to pharmaceutical companies developing projects in the U.S. and internationally.”

About Foster Wheeler

Foster Wheeler Ltd. is a global company offering, through its subsidiaries, a broad range of engineering, procurement, construction, manufacturing, project development, management, research, and plant operation services. Foster Wheeler serves the upstream oil and gas, LNG, gas-to-liquids refining, petrochemical, power, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and healthcare industries. The company is based in Hamilton, Bermuda and its operational headquarters are in Clinton, NJ.

Visit www.fwc.com

About Biokinetics

Biokinetics was established in 1996 and is now a recognized industry leader in process systems design for the biopharmaceutical industry, with expertise in bioprocess unit operations including fermentation, mammalian cell culture, bioreactors, bacterial, and yeast fermentation recovery; live and attenuated virus processing for vaccines and plasma-derived products; associated processing and support systems; pharmaceutical fill-finish and materials handling; process simulation and optimization; modular process design; high-purity water systems; and validation services. Biokinetics is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA with additional operations in California, North Carolina, and in Carlow, Ireland. It has approximately 130 employees.

Visit www.biokinc.com

February 25, 2008 — /PRNewswire/ — LOS ANGELES AND SUNNYVALE, CA — Aquest Systems Corp. and The Gores Group, LLC are jointly releasing a letter that describes their proposal to explore the acquisition of Asyst Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASYT) at a significant premium to the company’s current share price. Aquest and Gores are releasing the letter so that Asyst’s shareholders are aware of the proposal and are in a position to evaluate the potential benefits of such a transaction.

Aquest develops next-generation automation technologies for the worldwide semiconductor industry. Aquest was founded by Dr. Mihir Parikh, who was also the founder of Asyst and its CEO from inception in 1984 until 2002. Aquest’s private investors include Menlo Ventures, one of the technology industry’s most successful and respected venture capital firms, and also the founding investor of Asyst. Gores is a private equity firm focused on acquiring controlling interests in mature and growing businesses that can benefit from the firm’s operating experience and flexible capital base.

About Aquest Systems

Founded in 2004, Aquest Systems is the pioneer of No-Wait Manufacturing^SM (NWM) automation technologies for the worldwide semiconductor industry. A truly global company, Aquest employs a worldwide organization to efficiently leverage talent and resources in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, and India. The company is privately held and headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA.

Visit www.aquestsystems.com

About The Gores Group, LLC

Founded in 1987, The Gores Group, LLC is a private equity firm focused on acquiring controlling interests in mature and growing businesses which can benefit from the firm’s operating experience and flexible capital base. The firm combines the operational expertise and detailed due diligence capabilities of a strategic buyer with the seasoned M&A team of a traditional financial buyer. The Gores Group, LLC has become a leading investor having demonstrated over time a reliable track record of creating substantial value in its portfolio companies alongside management. The firm’s current private equity fund has committed equity capital of $1.3 billion. Headquartered in Los Angeles, The Gores Group, LLC maintains offices in Boulder, CO and London.

Visit www.gores.com

February 21, 2008 — /MILTON, NY/ — Sono-Tek Corp., the world leader in the development and application of liquid ultrasonic atomization technology into precision and liquid conserving spraying and coating application systems, announces that it has recently been assigned a patent for MediSonic by the USPTO.

The patent is entitled “Process for Coating Three Dimensional Substrates with Thin Organic Films and Products” and relates to equipment and processes for the creation of thin organic films on complicated substrates using Sono-Tek’s ultrasonic nozzle technology in combination with a vacuum system. Examples of potential and actual applications of this technology include the coating of implantable medical devices such as drug-coated cardiac stents, diabetes monitors, and other complicated geometries. The advantage of the MediSonic unit is that it can coat many small devices simultaneously by the interaction of the ultrasonically created vapor cloud in the vacuum chamber.

About Sono-Tek Corporation

Sono-Tek is the world leader in the development and application of liquid ultrasonic atomization technology into nozzle systems and spraying and coating application systems. Compared to conventional pressure spraying methods, the company’s ultrasonic nozzles do not clog, reduce liquid usage, waste, or cause environmental impact while achieving much more precise, uniform, thin film coatings. Sono-Tek is continually developing new applications for its unique technology, replacing wasteful practices in a world that is growing ever more environmentally sensitive.

Visit www.sono-tek.com

February 20, 2008 — /Oak Brook, IL/ — The statistics are well known; the CDC says nearly 2 million patients get an infection while hospitalized for other health problems each year, and nearly 90,000 die as a result, yet health care-associated infections continue to plague health care organizations. Now, Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, and the University of Minnesota School of Nursing are joining forces to provide a series of online infection control education modules that will give caregivers vital tools to improve patient safety.

A new online course combines JCR’s evidence-based practice experience with the academic strength for which the University of Minnesota School of Nursing is known. The internet-based program, Foundations in Infection Control, is comprised of 14 individual modules which cover essential infection control topics, including microbiology, infectious disease, and patient care practices. Each module provides an overview, exercises, application practice questions, and on-demand web presentations, providing a focus on risk identification and prevention strategies. The online program is targeted to infection control and prevention professionals, epidemiologists, and health care providers involved in the prevention, management, and treatment of infectious diseases. For more information call 612-624-3708 or visit www.cce.umn.edu/conferences/infection/.

JCR is also offering an infection control audio conference series, featuring 90-minute programs that highlight proven strategies and first-person accounts of infection control practices successfully implemented in hospitals. The series features JCR infection control experts.

Each program includes time for participants to ask questions. Topics and program dates include:

• March 7 – Best practices in ombating healthcare acquired infections (featuring the experiences of Arkansas Children’s Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medical Center)
• April 10 – Methods for improving communication and teamwork within your ICP team
• May 1 – Joint Commission standards: infection control revisions for 2009
• June 5
  

February 20, 2008 — /ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL/ — International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard 14644-6, cleanrooms and controlled environments part 6, vocabulary has been approved as an American national standard. The standard is available through the Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST).

ISO 14644-6 is an up-to-date, international dictionary of all cleanroom terms and definitions used in the ISO 14644 cleanrooms, controlled environments, and the ISO 14698 biocontamination series. This document is a great library resource for official definitions regarding cleanrooms and associated controlled environments, particularly in contract negotiations between buyers and sellers.

Each definition is followed by the Standard designation(s) and section(s) in which it is used. An index makes finding a particular definition easier.

ISO established Technical Committee (TC) 209 cleanrooms and associated controlled environments in 1992 to address a need for global cleanroom standards other than the collection of differing national standards in place at that time. ISO 14644-6 is the last document of the original list proposed by ISO/TC 209 in 1992. Since that time, two
additional documents, ISO 14644-8, classification of airborne molecular contamination, and ISO 14644-9, classification of surface particle cleanliness, were added to the program. The cornerstones of the series are ISO 14644-1, classification of air cleanliness, and ISO 14644-2, specifications for testing and monitoring to prove continued compliance with ISO 14644-1.

Visit www.iest.org