SAN ANTONIO, TX, June 6, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Applied Biosystems Group, an Applera Corp. business, with its joint venture partner MDS Sciex, a division of MDS Inc. and Dionex Corp., have established an alliance to develop IC-MS/MS and LC/MS/MS solutions for emerging market opportunities. The first jointly-developed solution focuses on the analysis of perchlorate, an environmental contaminant that's currently receiving international attention because of ground and surface water contamination.
Perchlorate, a contaminant that has been used widely in industrial and military applications, is a powerful thyroid toxin that has been monitored in the drinking water supply in many states across the U.S. and found in foods and beverages globally.
Joint work performed by Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX and Dionex has already been incorporated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the recent development of EPA Method 332.0 "Determination of Perchlorate in Drinking Water by Ion Chromatography with Suppressed Conductivity and Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry."
"The voluntary assistance of companies such as Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX joint venture and Dionex provides invaluable support to our analytical methods development activities," said David J. Munch, Chemistry Laboratory Manager of the Office of Ground & Drinking Water at the Environmental Protection Agency. "We hope that this is the first in a long line of cooperative efforts to develop the quality of analytical methods needed to assure the quality of drinking water while providing the latest technologies to the analytical laboratory community."
"Current methods for environmental testing do not provide the degree of confidence needed to confirm the presence of a contaminant," said Mark P. Stevenson, Division President of Applied Markets for Applied Biosystems. "The combination of ion chromatography and mass spectrometry provides a way for scientists to confirm both the presence and amount of a contaminant in a single analysis."
Future projects are expected to focus on coupling Dionex high-performance ion chromatography and liquid chromatography technologies and chemistries with Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX state of the art mass spectrometers to generate analytical solutions required for the accurate and sensitive measurement of a wide range of target analytes.
"Dionex is pleased to enter into the Alliance Agreement with the Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX joint venture," said David Bow, Vice President of North American Sales, Service and Corporate Marketing for Dionex Corporation. "I am excited about this relationship because I feel that the combined strengths of Dionex's expertise in separation science coupled with Applied Biosystems/MDS SCIEX's expertise in mass spectroscopy will provide unique and powerful new solutions for the markets we serve.
This announcement was made today in conjunction with the 53rd Annual Conference of the American Society of Mass Spectrometry in San Antonio, Texas.
Applera Corp. (www.applera.com) consists of two operating groups. The Applied Biosystems Group (www.appliedbiosystems.com), based in Foster City, Calif., serves the life science industry and research community by developing and marketing instrument-based systems, consumables, software, and services. Customers use these tools to analyze nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), small molecules, and proteins to make scientific discoveries, develop new pharmaceuticals, and conduct standardized testing. Applied Biosystems reported sales of $1.7 billion during fiscal 2004. The Celera Genomics Group (www.celera.com) is engaged principally in the discovery and development of targeted therapeutics for cancer, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. It leverages proteomic, bioinformatic and genomic capabilities to identify and validate drug targets, and to discover and develop small molecule therapeutics. Celera Diagnostics, a 50/50 joint venture between Applied Biosystems and Celera Genomics, is focused on discovery, development, and commercialization of diagnostic products.
Dionex Corp. (www.dionex.com) provides ion chromatography and a leading liquid chromatography company technology and equipment. It manufactures HPLC and IC instruments and columns, sample preparation devices, and develops chromatography automation and data management software under ISO 9001 procedures.
MDS Sciex (www.mdsintl.com) is the analytical instrumentation and technology solutions division of MDS Inc. MDS Inc. has more than 9,000 highly skilled people in 25 countries. We provide a diverse range of superior products and services to increase our customers' speed, precision and productivity in the drug development and disease diagnosis processes. We are a global, values-driven health and life sciences company, recognized for our reliability and collaborative relationships as we help create better outcomes in the treatment of disease.
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