May 15, 2006 – Lumera Corporation (Nasdaq:LMRA) announced that Baylor Research Institute had agreed to purchase its beta ProteomicProcessor Biosensor instrument. The team at Baylor Research Institute plans to use the instrument to measure serum protein levels.
Lumera’s strategy is to place five beta units with research organizations to find new applications which take advantage of the instrument’s throughput. This is the third placement of the biosensor.
May 15, 2006 – Nanogen Inc., a developer of advanced diagnostic products, announced a collaboration agreement with Finnish genomics company Oy Jurilab Ltd. The collaboration is designed to identify and validate new prognostic markers for type II diabetes, one of the leading causes of death in the United States.
Jurilab has access to genetic screening of an isolated population in East Finland, which the company says is derived from one of the most genetically homogeneous populations available.
Through the agreement, Nanogen will gain access to markers identified by Jurilab in genome-wide screens. Certain markers seem to be associated with predisposition to diabetes; others appear to protect against developing the disease. Both Jurilab and Nanogen say they plan to validate the diabetes associations of these markers in populations outside Finland.
May 15, 2006 – Cepheid (Nasdaq: CPHD), a molecular diagnostics company, announced the European release of its Epstein-Barr virus assay for clinical diagnostic use on its SmartCycler System. The Smart EBV assay is intended for detection of Epstein-Barr virus. EBV infection is associated with development of a serious complication of bone marrow or solid-organ transplantation in which uncontrolled growth of lymphatic tissue can become life-threatening.
The SmartCycler System is a real-time PCR testing platform that the company says can deliver test results from prepared biological samples in approximately 30-40 minutes.
May 15, 2006 – Cascade Microtech announced it will be providing Agilent Technologies Inc. with WinCal 2006 high frequency measurement calibration software. The software will be used to support to Agilent’s ENA Series Network Analyzers.
Agilent’s ENA Series Network Analyzers offer a wide range of RF measurements. Cascade Microtech’s probe stations and RF probes allow the ENA Series to perform measurements on-wafer.
May 15, 2006 – Applied Materials Inc. announced that it has signed an agreement to create a joint venture company with Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co. Ltd. (Screen) to deliver track solutions for customers’ critical semiconductor manufacturing requirements.
The new company, to be called Sokudo Co. Ltd., will be headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, and will bring together the resources and capabilities of Screen and Applied Materials.
Sokudo will operate as a separate entity having its own management structure, with 52% owned by Screen and 48% owned by Applied Materials. Screen will transfer into the new company its existing track business and related intellectual property, including employees, products and its installed base of systems. Applied’s contribution will include technology and related intellectual property, key development employees and approximately $151 million.
Screen will perform manufacturing for Sokudo under an outsourcing agreement. Formation of the company is expected to be finalized in July.
May 12, 2006 – Apogee Technology Inc. (AMEX: ATA), a micro-electrical mechanical systems and nanotechnology company that designs, develops and markets medical devices and sensors products, announced the formation of a Medical Advisory Board and the appointment of its first three members.
Peter Carroll has been appointed chairman of the advisory board. He is the founder of Medlen & Carroll, LLP. Carroll is joined by Joachim Kohn, the current Director of the New Jersey Center for Biomaterials, and Sanford Simon, Professor of Biochemistry, Cell Biology and Pathology at Stony Brook University.
May 12, 2006 – ALIO Industries, a manufacturer of nanometer precision stages, announced the appointment of Jeff Johnson as the company’s new president. Bill Hennessey, ALIO’s founder and current president and chief executive officer, will continue to serve as the company’s CEO.
May 12, 2006 – Uni-Pixel Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement with the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) to collaborate on the development and commercialization of Uni-Pixel’s TMOS display technology.
Time Multiplexed Optical Shutter (TMOS) is a patented Micro Electronic Mechanical System (MEMS) approach to flat panel displays that uses a single pixel structure to emit the full color spectrum. Uni-Pixel believes that when completed, its TMOS technology will offer advantages over existing alternatives including lower manufacturing cost, greater power efficiency and improved image quality.
May 12, 2006 – Heidelberg Instruments announced the sale of an advanced DWL400 maskless laser lithography system to the Institute of Optics, Information and Photonics (Max Planck Research Group) at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
According to the company, the DWL400 system will be mainly used for direct writing of microstructured optical elements and materials.
May 12, 2006 – KLA-Tencor (Nasdaq: KLAC) unveiled its third-generation magnetic metrology system for the hard disk drive and semiconductor memory markets. Based on the MRW200 platform, the company says the MRW3 measures the magnetic properties of HDD recording heads and magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) on product wafers for production control and early detection of process issues that could adversely impact yield.
The MRW3 system has completed a beta evaluation at a semiconductor manufacturing company. The company will begin shipping the system this month.