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XenoTech LLC Offers Drug Industry New Metabolite Profiling Services Following Acquisition of Waters Synapt HDMS System

Posted on: Wednesday, 11 March 2009, 08:00 CDT

Investing in Groundbreaking Mass Spectrometry Technology Allows Contract Research Organization to Offer Pharmaceutical Clients Comprehensive Pre-Clinical Study Data

MILFORD, Mass., March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) announced today that XenoTech (Lenexa, KS) has begun offering new metabolite profiling services made possible in part by its recent acquisition of a Waters(R) Synapt(TM) High Definition Mass Spectrometry(TM) (HDMS) System. The Synapt HDMS System is the centerpiece of its metabolite profiling efforts and allows XenoTech to offer one-of-a-kind services to companies investigating promising new drug candidates. Integrated with a Waters ACQUITY(R) UltraPerformance Liquid Chromatograph (UPLC(R)) the Synapt HDMS System provides XenoTech's scientific consultants with in vitro drug metabolism study data to support its clients' drug discovery decision-making process, offering insights into the viability of potential drug candidates prior to their introduction into clinical trials.

"We have built a high degree of quality into XenoTech's products and in vitro services," states Andrew Parkinson, CEO / CSO of XenoTech. "We enjoy a very strong reputation for drug metabolism research and for our consultative approach to contract services. Our customers know that they can expect the best from us, and in turn, we expect the best from the instrumentation that we use to investigate their compounds."

"The economic landscape comes into play as well," says Parkinson. "Customers are faced with the need to collect more information on their developmental drugs with limited budgets and reduced staff. As a provider of contract services, we must produce the most meaningful and reliable data as quickly and efficiently as possible using small amounts of costly test compounds, and offer flexibility in our study designs to achieve cost savings and provide value for money. The Waters Synapt HDMS System was a perfect fit for both our scientific expectations and our operational requirements."

XenoTech purchased the Waters Synapt HDMS System after an exhaustive six-month evaluation of all commercial instrument providers.

"We needed flawless high resolution and accurate mass," said Paul Toren, Director of Drug Metabolism and Analytical Chemistry at XenoTech. "We were impressed with the integrated software and work-flow, and once we saw the added capabilities of the Synapt HDMS's ion mobility feature, we were convinced that this was the instrument for XenoTech's lab."

Metabolic profiling is an important and growing area of expertise for XenoTech. Its unique system of in vitro metabolite profiling can alleviate the need for expensive and time-consuming pre-clinical animal studies. XenoTech's scientists screen promising drug compounds by exposing them to drug-metabolizing enzymes derived from human liver cells, or hepatocytes. XenoTech monitors the production of metabolites that might prove toxic or interfere with the intended action of the compound or co-administered pharmaceuticals. These studies give clients an early indication whether their drug candidate could cause adverse consequences in vivo. XenoTech is relying on the sensitivity and the ability of the Waters Synapt HDMS to identify drug metabolites, as recommended by the FDA, and to provide its scientific consultants with reliable and comprehensive scientific data to make sound recommendations for their clients.

Waters Corporation (www.waters.com)

Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) creates business advantages for laboratory-dependent organizations by delivering practical and sustainable innovation to enable significant advancements in such areas as healthcare delivery, environmental management, food safety, and water quality worldwide.

Pioneering a connected portfolio of separations science, laboratory information management, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis, Waters technology breakthroughs and laboratory solutions provide an enduring platform for customer success.

With revenue of $1.58 billion in 2008 and 5,000 employees, Waters is driving scientific discovery and operational excellence for customers worldwide.

XenoTech LLC (www.xenotechllc.com)

XenoTech is a Contract Research Organization (CRO) serving clients with unparalleled experience and expertise in evaluating drug candidates as substrates, inhibitors and inducers of cytochrome P450enzymes. XenoTech offers a variety of in vitro contract studies for drug candidate evaluation, as well as an extensive selection of products for drug metabolism research. XenoTech is a subsidiary of Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd. The company was founded in 1994 by Dr. Andrew Parkinson.

Waters, High Definition Mass Spectrometry, ACQUITY, and Synapt are trademarks of Waters Corporation.

SOURCE XenoTech LLC

Source: PR Newswire

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