Millipore and Guava partner on flow cytometry systems for cell biology
March 11, 2008, Billerica, MA and Hayward, CA--Millipore Corporation and Guava Technologies have entered into a long-term partnership to deliver integrated flow cytometry solutions to scientists conducting research in cell biology, including stem cell research. The companies say they will offer scientists superior technical performance, higher quality data, and much greater accessibility to this powerful analytical platform than is currently available.
Flow cytometry is used by scientists to measure changes in protein expression in individual cells that may occur as a consequence of many important factors such as (stem) cell differentiation, disease, aging, cancer development, drug treatment, and toxicity. The combination of Millipore's and Guava's capabilities will integrate instrumentation, reagent kits, validated protocols, and technical support to bring the advantages of flow cytometry to the bench tops of cell biologists.
"Our partnership with Guava creates the potential for us to fundamentally improve the way that cell biology research is conducted," said Martin Madaus, President & CEO of Millipore. "The combination of Millipore sample prep and reagents with Guava's instrument platform will create an integrated offering, giving scientists a menu of plug and play solutions to help them generate high quality results that advance their research. The collaboration allows us to add considerable value to the highly differentiated antibody portfolio and assay development capabilities that came with our Serologicals acquisition."
Under the terms of the partnership, Millipore will gain exclusive rights to distribute Guava's non-clinical instrumentation within defined fields in North America, Europe and other countries in Asia. Additionally, Millipore will provide field service for all Guava instrumentation in the same geographies. Millipore will also develop co-branded reagent kits specifically for Guava's flow cytometers,. Finally, Millipore and Guava Technologies will work together to develop a new generation of instrumentation with enhanced performance and functionality.
"Our two companies have a shared vision of making complex cellular analyses accessible to any scientist. Millipore has significant experience and reach among academic and government researchers and an extensive network of highly qualified service providers throughout the world," said Lawrence Bruder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Guava Technologies. "With Millipore as our partner, together we can make this vision a reality and significantly increase our global presence and lower the barriers for cell biologists to adopt flow cytometry as a major research tool."
Guava Technologies developed the first commercially available micro-capillary flow cytometry system, leveraging advances in semiconductor lasers to develop analytical instruments that are intended to revolutionize cell-culture monitoring and cell screening through the use of microcapillary cytometry. The company's Guava PCA (personal cell analysis), Guava PCA-96, and Guava PCA-96 AFP systems offer turnkey operation and multiple assays in desktop configurations that are about a third of the size of conventional cytometers and less than half the price.
The heart of the PCA systems is patented, laser-based microcapillary technology capable of detecting mammalian and microbial cells and beads. Fluorescently labeled cells are aspirated into a microcapillary flow cell in which a green or blue diode laser excites 200 picoliters of sample containing cells—each cell emits signals that are individually detected by photomultipliers and a photodiode. Guava's software modules show all the relevant data and results immediately on a laptop screen. The unique fluid dynamics of the capillary flow cell provide a range of new and unique applications and eliminate the need for the sheath fluid required in conventional flow cytometry.
The parties plan to launch co-branded products to the market in July 2008.