June 19, 2007 — WESTBROOK, ME — ARTEL announces that Yellowstone National Park has been selected as the location for Mission #2 of the Extreme Pipetting Expedition. At Yellowstone, ARTEL will test how pipetting liquids at a temperature different than the pipette (thermal disequilibrium) affects delivered volume and data accuracy and precision.

While today’s laboratories are usually temperature-controlled, it is very common to handle liquids that are extremely hot or cold. For example, restriction enzymes used in nucleic acid work are frequently handled at ice temperature (0 degrees Celsius), and higher temperatures are encountered with handling mammalian cell cultures (37 degrees Celsius) or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) solutions (60 degrees Celsius or higher). Because pipettes deliver different volumes when fluids are at different temperatures, laboratories need to account for the resulting volume variation.

To draw attention to the importance of considering temperature disequilibrium in clinical testing, and help laboratories develop strategies to overcome this effect, ARTEL will release the results from Mission #2 at the 2007 AACC Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo, San Diego, CA, July 15-19, Booth #4143. At AACC, ARTEL will also hold the Pipetting Olympics to reward laboratorians for superior pipetting skills, a major factor in data accuracy and precision. The competition will, for the first time, include multichannel pipetting competitions.

Yellowstone was selected as the site for Mission #2 because it is emblematic of thermal variation. The active geothermal features at Yellowstone include hundreds of geysers, steam vents, and hot springs, all set in an alpine environment where air temperatures of -45 degrees Celsius have been recorded. Water and steam temperatures in Yellowstone range from below freezing to nearly 140 degrees Celsius (280 degrees Fahrenheit). In addition to the well-known Old Faithful geyser, Yellowstone is also the natural home of Thermus aquaticus (the source of Taq DNA Polymerase), which was first isolated from the park’s Fountain Geyser region.

The Extreme Pipetting Expedition is a multi-phase, year-long scientific study to illustrate the impact of laboratory conditions on data integrity. More information can be found at http://www.artel-usa.com/extreme.

About ARTEL
ARTEL is the worldwide leader in liquid handling quality assurance. Based on its proprietary Ratiometric Photometry technology, ARTEL manufactures the most accurate, precise, and easy-to-use systems available for ensuring data integrity in liquid volume measurement. ARTEL systems utilize an ISO-conforming method (ISO 8655-7) to provide NIST-traceable results. In addition, ARTEL provides liquid handling quality assurance support and consultation services including on site pipetting technique training and certifications for pipette users and laboratory managers, as well as Liquid Handler Performance Verification services for automated laboratories.

Since 1982, ARTEL technology has been proven in daily use in thousands of laboratories including pharmaceutical, clinical, forensics, public health and drug discovery. Leading institutions such as Amgen, ARUP, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Center for Disease Control, DuPont, Eli Lilly, Genomic Health, IDT Technologies, Mayo Clinic, Merck, Pfizer, Proctor & Gamble, Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center and U.S. FDA depend on ARTEL technology to help them meet their objectives for quality and productivity. For more information, contact ARTEL at 25 Bradley Drive, Westbrook, ME 04092; Tel: 207-854-0860; Fax: 207-854-0867; web site: http://www.artel-usa.com

June 19, 2007 — /PRNewswire/ — NORWOOD, MA — A new, free white paper for clinical laboratory managers titled, “Effectively Isolating Anaerobic Bacteria” is now available from Spiral Biotech, Inc. at http://www.aicompanies.com/anoxomat.

As hospital infection rates continue to increase sharply, clinicians are faced with the ongoing challenge of quickly determining the presence or absence of a wide array of pathogens. As a result, clinical laboratories face growing pressure to quickly and reliably culture a variety of organisms from patient specimens. Correctly diagnosing and safeguarding patient health requires accurate, timely isolation and identification of anaerobic bacteria and related organisms.

This new, free whitepaper, “Effectively Isolating Anaerobic Bacteria,” discusses anaerobic chambers and gas bags as the traditional applications used in the isolation and testing of anaerobic bacteria and related organisms as well as explores a third, newer technology — the Anoxomat anaerobic system.

The paper details comparative studies demonstrating the benefits of the use of the Anoxomat anaerobic system versus anaerobic chambers and gas bags in clinical laboratories in terms of saving consumables, costs, time, and effort for clinical laboratory management and their staff.

To download the free white paper, “Effectively Isolating Anaerobic Bacteria,” visit http://www.aicompanies.com/anoxomat. Or, request a copy by calling toll-free 1-800-554-1620.

About Spiral Biotech, Inc.
For nearly 30 years Spiral Biotech, Inc., a subsidiary of Advanced Instruments, has produced a line of automated microbiology systems for hospital laboratory and clinical laboratory applications. The company focuses on automating the pre-analytical and analytical steps involved with traditional microbial enumeration with a product line that includes colony counters, plating systems, anaerobic workstations, susceptibility test software, air samplers and sample prep tools. For more information, contact Spiral Biotech on the web at www.spiralbiotech.com or toll free at 1-800-554-

Source: Spiral Biotech, Inc.

Contact:
Don Goncalves
Tel: 781-793-9380
E-mail: [email protected]

Brandie Gerrish
Tel: 781-793-9380
E-mail: [email protected], both for Spiral Biotech, Inc.

June 19, 2007 — /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — ST. LOUIS, MO — Sigma-Aldrich is pleased to launch ChemDose(TM), a novel compound handling technology designed to enable easy delivery of reagents and catalysts in tablet form.

ChemDose, co-developed with Reaxa, Ltd., involves absorption of reagents into an inert tablet matrix. On exposure to solvents, the reagents readily dissolve out, leaving behind an easily removed insoluble tablet. ChemDose tablets offer the timesaving convenience of pre-weighed reagents, minimize waste, and are compatible with microwaves, parallel synthesis equipment, non-aqueous and aqueous solvents. Reaction kinetics utilizing ChemDose closely parallel the corresponding conventional reagent under the same conditions. Additionally, ChemDose tablets minimize exposure and offer convenient handling of difficult-to-use chemicals.

“ChemDose is another way to accelerate the success of our customers, and we look forward to expanding the ChemDose offering through customer feedback,” says Charles Davis, technology transfer manager, chemistry, Sigma-Aldrich.

Currently available ChemDose products include common palladium catalysts, ligands for cross-coupling, and peptide coupling reagents. To learn more about technical and application information, please visit http://sigma-aldrich.com/chemdose.

About Sigma-Aldrich
Sigma-Aldrich is a leading life science and high technology company. Its biochemical and organic chemical products and kits are used in scientific and genomic research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical development, the diagnosis of disease and as key components in pharmaceutical and other high technology manufacturing. The Company has customers in life science companies, university and government institutions, hospitals, and in industry. Over one million scientists and technologists use its products. Sigma-Aldrich operates in 36 countries and has 7,600 employees providing excellent service worldwide. Sigma-Aldrich is committed to Accelerating Customer Success through Leadership in Life Science, High Technology and Service. For more information about Sigma-Aldrich, please visit its award-winning Web site at http://sigma-aldrich.com.

Contact:
Sean Battles of Sigma-Aldrich
Tel: 314-286-7616
E-mail: [email protected]

June 14, 2007 — /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced the award of two contracts to expand the domestic influenza vaccine manufacturing capacity that could be used in the event of a potential influenza pandemic.

The department has awarded two cost-reimbursable contracts totaling $132.5 million to sanofi pasteur and MedImmune over five years to retrofit existing domestic vaccine manufacturing facilities on a cost-sharing basis and to provide warm-base operations for manufacturing pandemic influenza vaccines. In warm-base operations, the contractor does not shut down the facility.

“We must prepare for a flu pandemic, although it may not be possible to be certain when the next one will come or how severe it will be,” Secretary Leavitt said. “These contracts are important advances in the path of preparation because they help the nation build its capacity to respond.”

The five-year contracts were awarded to sanofi pasteur, a manufacturer of a U.S.-licensed egg-based inactivated influenza vaccine product, for $77.4 million and to MedImmune, a manufacturer of a U.S.-licensed egg-based live, attenuated vaccine product, for $55.1 million. The contracts provide funding for renovation of manufacturing facilities and manufacturing warm-base operations for two years with options for an additional three years of warm-base operation.

Upon completion, these facilities will expand domestic pandemic vaccine manufacturing capacity by 16 percent. Additionally, these facilities will afford year-round production of pre-pandemic influenza vaccines for the national stockpile, which is limited currently to three months each year.

The HHS Pandemic Preparedness Plan, issued in November 2005, outlines public health preparedness and response activities for an influenza pandemic. Major vaccine goals include the establishment of pre-pandemic influenza vaccine stockpiles for 20 million persons in the critical workforce and the expansion of domestic pandemic vaccine manufacturing surge capacity for 300 million persons within six months of the onset of an influenza pandemic.

HHS’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, which oversees medical countermeasure development and acquisition efforts through its Office of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), formerly the Office of Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures, will manage these contracts.

Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Contact:
HHS Press Office
Tel: 202-690-6343
Web site: http://www.hhs.gov/

FreshLoc wireless sensors will transmit temperature, humidity data to Simplifi 797

June 14, 2007 — BELLEVUE, WA — Pharmacy OneSource, Inc., software-as-a-service provider to more than 1,000 hospitals in the United States, announced a partnership today with FreshLoc Technologies and its national distributor WTH Healthcare Networks to interface their wireless environmental monitoring sensors with Simplifi 797, a web-based application that simplifies meeting all of the quality requirements of USP Chapter 797.

“The business of FreshLoc is temperature and humidity recordkeeping. It makes sense to integrate that data into Simplifi 797,” stated Larry Riley, CEO of WTH Healthcare Networks. “FreshLoc is our premier brand exactly because it provides opportunities like this one, to deliver value and automation throughout hospitals.”

FreshLoc is a sensory network system providing quality control for temperature-sensitive processes. It monitors mission critical equipment and assets to assure compliance throughout a facility or an enterprise.

Using wireless sensors, FreshLoc automatically and continually logs temperature, humidity and other measures, delivering reports and alerts in real time.

“Most pharmacists see collecting temperature and humidity values as critical to safety and quality in sterile compounding, yet would much rather have it done automatically and wirelessly,” said Keith Streckenbach, executive vice president of Pharmacy OneSource. “After reviewing the options available, FreshLoc and WTH are the clear choice. We’re delighted to bring their patented technologies and 30-plus years of experience to our treasured customers, who place high value on exceptional technology and service at economical prices. Automatic documentation of temperature and humidity into Simplifi 797 is a huge win for our customers.”

Simplifi 797 by Pharmacy OneSource is a web-based application that automates, integrates, and streamlines the quality activities and documentation required to meet USP Chapter 797, including competencies and batch processing. Simplifi 797 also manages task scheduling and monitoring and automates the reporting of exceptions and compliance.

About Pharmacy OneSource
Pharmacy OneSource is pharmacy’s #1 documentation and formulary Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider. Our nearly 50 innovative team members provide best-in-class, SaaS solutions to current and future challenges within health-system pharmacy worldwide. Our SaaS solutions contribute to high performance pharmacy through better outcomes, lower costs and system-wide results. More than 1,000 healthcare organizations worldwide utilize our HIPAA compliant web-based services: Accupedia, Amplifi, Quantifi, ScheduleRx, Sentri7, Simplifi 797, and UnitStock.
http://www.pharmacyonesource.com

About FreshLoc Technologies
FreshLoc automates regulatory compliance, providing reports and records of safe storage and transport of customers’ perishables. Reliable, automatic, and continuous, a FreshLoc infrastructure delivers remote monitoring and real-time alerts for safety and quality assurance. The highly scalable FreshLoc sensor network can serve a single department, the enterprise or an entire supply chain, utilizing small, watch-sized sensors to measure temperature, humidity, and other critical metrics.
http://www.freshloc.com

About WTH Healthcare Networks
WTH Healthcare Networks, Inc. provides solutions for healthcare and senior living facilities. Providing local support nationwide, the company is a network of seasoned technical professionals who have served the healthcare industry for over 30 years. WTH Healthcare Networks, Inc. delivers technology to ease operation, increase efficiency, and reduce cost in safe environments.
http://www.wth-hc.com

June 15, 2007 — STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN — Air France Cargo-KLM Cargo has extended its partnership with Envirotainer to serve the pharmaceutical market with active temperature-controlled air cargo solutions.

Stephane Lemaire, pharma industry director of Air France Cargo-KLM Cargo, says, “For several years Air France Cargo-KLM Cargo has been a partner of many leading players in the pharmaceutical industry to ensure quality and on-time delivery of their temperature-sensitive shipments. In our dedicated product range for the pharmaceutical industry, Variation Pharma, our Closed Cool Chain solution Variation Pharma 1, dedicated to goods requiring the strictest temperature control, is successfully ensured through the use of Envirotainer’s high quality equipment.”

Martin Peter, vice president, sales, of Envirotainer, adds, “Air France Cargo-KLM Cargo is Envirotainer’s biggest customer and partner. They are highly respected providers of cold chain solutions in the air cargo world. Together, we will continue to focus on increasing service and quality to satisfy the growing needs for cold chain solutions in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry.”

Air France Cargo-KLM Cargo is the dedicated air cargo business of Air France-KLM and offers an integrated network to and from Europe with more than 400 destinations worldwide. Its dedicated international pharma sales team has extensive industry expertise focused on local market requirements, while maintaining awareness of customers’ global logistics requirements. Air France Cargo-KLM Cargo offers reliable transfer, dedicated handling, and monitoring of pharmaceutical shipments within the dedicated global network via Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Paris-Charles de Gaulle. The “Variation Pharma” product range is specially designed for shipping pharmaceutical and medical goods.

Envirotainer, pioneer and leader of the active temperature-controlled air cargo container market, has recently decided to focus solely on serving the pharmaceutical market with its fleet of more than 3,500 active temperature controlled air cargo containers. Last month, Envirotainer announced it has increased its fleet of the latest dry-ice container generation by 10%.

Envirotainer is a registered trademark owned by the company Envirotainer AB.
http://www.envirotainer.com

June 18, 2007 — /IEST News/ — ROLLING MEADOWS, IL — Learn industry methods from your desk, conference room, or auditorium without the hassles of travel. The Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology (IEST) will offer a new two-part online education tutorial, Healthcare Airborne Molecular Contamination, on Wednesday, September 5, and Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. (CDT).

Nosocomial infection, commonly referred to as health care associated infection (HAI), is a significant problem in health care environments around the world. In the United States alone, HAI claims nearly 100,000 lives per year and adds billions of dollars to the cost of care, and there are numerous factors that are combining to make the struggle with HAI increasingly difficult. Living in what is becoming known as the post-antibiotic era, new methods are required to combat HAI and there is increasing pressure to employ them. This class examines the magnitude of the problem, discusses in general what factors are contributing to it, and relates how technology developed for ultra-clean manufacturing facilities can be utilized to help reduce the incidence of HAI.

Joseph McGill, the instructor, has 20 years of engineering and construction experience, 15 of which have been cleanroom-related in the United States and abroad. He was a consultant to firms in the Science Based Industrial Park in Hsinchu, Taiwan, for five years, where he worked with numerous American, Asian, and European companies specializing in cleanroom design, manufacturing, and construction. With a background in semiconductor-related projects, he has become increasingly involved in the design and construction of health care facilities, with an emphasis on maintaining environmental conditions and controlling airborne contamination in critical spaces. He is a 1984 graduate of the School of Engineering at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

The per-location fee has no limit on the number of students who may participate at each location.* More information is available online at www.iest.org or by calling IEST at (847) 255-1561.

*Access will be granted to one computer per location.

Founded in 1953, IEST is an international technical society of engineers, scientists, and educators that serves its members and the industries they represent (simulating, testing, controlling, and teaching the environments of earth and space) through education and the development of recommended practices and standards.

IEST is an ANSI-accredited standards-developing organization; Secretariat of ISO/TC 209 Cleanrooms and associated controlled environments; Administrator of the ANSI-accredited US TAG to ISO/TC 209; Administrator of the ANSI-accredited US TAG to ISO/TC 142 Cleaning equipment for air and other gases; and a founding member of the ANSI-accredited US TAG to ISO/TC 229 Nanotechnologies.

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Registration is now open for the next IEST online education course, Cleanroom Housekeeping. This one-hour live course will be held Thursday, August 30, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. (CDT). Registration is now open at http://www.iest.org/education/education.htm.

June 19, 2007 — AGAWAM, MA — Microtest Laboratories and Texcel Medical today announced a strategic alliance to provide pharmaceutical manufacturers and biotechnology companies with a competitive advantage when developing the latest breed of “combination products.”

An estimated 30 percent of new products under development this year are combo products — consisting of medical devices embedded with pharmaceutical or biologics components. Growing at a 10 percent compound annual growth rate, the market is expected to reach approximately $9.5 billion in 2009.

“The combination products market is booming. Yet, many pharmaceutical companies are struggling to manage the convergence of devices and drugs or biologics and the host of unique FDA testing guidelines, practices and regulations that such products require,” according to Steven Richter, PhD, president, Microtest.

“For such firms, outsourcing is the solution — provided that the arrangement is struck with the right partner. This is the strategy behind the Microtest/Texcel alliance,” Richter said.

Microtest, based in Agawam, MA, is a leader in testing services and contract manufacturing for the medical device, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries. The company brings both world-class testing facilities and deep regulatory experience to the alliance, as well as comprehensive combination product solutions that include GLP testing services, sterilization validation, package testing, stability testing, biocompatibility testing, and clinical trial material application.

Texcel, of East Longmeadow, MA, provides manufacturing infrastructure and engineering expertise for surgical, interventional, and implantable medical devices. The firm completes the alliance’s offering for pharma manufacturers with a host of solutions for active implantable devices — and an ISO 13485:2003, ISO 9001:2000 and FDR registered facility.

“Together, we offer a unique, seamless synergy of expertise in the design, prototyping, development, testing, approval, and manufacturing of combination products. For pharma companies, the result is an instant competitive advantage and acceleration in time-to-market in an increasingly fast-moving, competitive, and global economic market,” said Larry Derose, president, Texcel.

For more information on Microtest, visit www.microtestlabs.com or call 1-413-786-1680 or toll-free 1-800-631-1680. For more information on Texcel, visit www.texcelaser.com or call 1-413-525-5700 or toll-free 1-800-754-1800.