First label-free drug-screening service for European drug discovery researchers

OCTOBER 17, 2008 -- Actar AB, a start-up company that is part of the Karolinska Institutet innovations system (Stockholm, Sweden), has begun providing label-free drug screening services, made possible by its recent purchase of the Epic System from Corning, Inc. Actar is the only company to provide high-throughput screening services to drug discovery researchers in Scandinavia and Europe on a fee-for-service basis.

Epic uses patented optical biosensor technology to measure a broad range of biological responses that are undetectable with conventional methods. Corning Inc. says it is the world's first high-throughput, label-free screening system.

"The Corning Epic System makes us an even more powerful partner with academic institutions in developing drugs out of academic discoveries," said Claes Post, chairman of the Actar AB Board.

"Actar's decision to purchase the Corning Epic System highlights the significant potential of label-free technology in drug discovery," said Ron Verkleeren, business director, Corning Epic System.

More information:
Actar AB
Corning Epic System