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Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre Expands Cancer Research Efforts with Automation Tool from Caliper Life Sciences

Posted on: Tuesday, 19 May 2009, 08:00 CDT

- Foundation Purchases Caliper's Staccato System to Enable High Throughput Research Processes -

HOPKINTON, Mass., May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Caliper Life Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CALP), a leading provider of tools and services for drug discovery and life sciences research, today announced a collaboration with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (PMCC), based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. PMCC is using Caliper's Staccato automation system to perform oncology related lab discovery experiments in less time, leading to a better understanding of how to treat and prevent cancer through gene knockdown therapies.

"We would be unable to perform this type of large scale research without the Staccato workstation from Caliper," said Dr. Kaylene Simpson, manager of the Functional Genomics Group at PMCC. "The instrument helps us work towards our primary goals: to identify genes that regulate cancer cell growth, survival, and proliferation, and responses to drug targets."

The Functional Genomics Group at PMCC is funded by the Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) and provides Australian research institutes with access to large scale, high throughput gene knockdown technology that aids cancer research. By eliminating a gene's ability to express, gene knockdown techniques may uncover ways to silence specific genes associated with cancer, leading to new forms of treatment. Researchers at PMCC are currently working with the Dharmacon entire human and mouse genome collections (~21,000 genes), attempting to knockdown each one. The Staccato enables the researcher to work through these gene sets in a rapid, systematic and reproducible way.

"The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre's decision to rely on the Staccato reinforces Caliper's position as a leading provider of automation solutions for the life sciences industry," said Kevin Hrusovsky, CEO of Caliper Life Sciences. "Caliper has made significant strides in helping our customers with oncology research. From automation to imaging and tumor models, Caliper provides researchers with the tools to conduct quality oncology research."

Led by Richard Holder, Millennium Science, a distributor of instrumentation and reagents for the biotechnology research and industrial markets, has been a Caliper partner and distributor for 12 years. Millennium worked closely with the PMCC and has been responsible for driving awareness and usage of the Staccato system in Australia.

About Caliper Life Sciences

Caliper Life Sciences is a premier provider of cutting-edge technologies enabling researchers in the life sciences industry to create life-saving and enhancing medicines and diagnostic tests more quickly and efficiently. Caliper is aggressively innovating new technology to bridge the gap between in vitro assays and in vivo results and then translating those results into cures for human disease. Caliper's portfolio of offerings includes state-of-the-art microfluidics, lab automation & liquid handling, optical imaging technologies, and discovery & development outsourcing solutions. For more information please visit www.caliperLS.com.

Caliper and Staccato are registered trademarks of Caliper Life Sciences, Inc.

About Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

In the midst of a worldwide effort, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre is in a powerful position to help in the war on cancer. It is one of a handful of comprehensive cancer centres outside the United States and houses the largest cancer research group in Australia, with over 500 staff across the Centre involved in cancer research. The combination of a specialist cancer hospital and an embedded sophisticated laboratory complex provides unparalleled opportunities to inform clinical practice and engage in translational clinical research.

To be most effective, cancer research at Peter Mac has been structured in the form of multidisciplinary teams of laboratory scientists, clinician-researchers and allied health staff. Our spectrum of research ranges from laboratory-based studies into the fundamental mechanisms of cell growth, translational studies that seek more accurate cancer diagnosis, clinical trials with novel treatments, to research aimed at improving our supportive care of patients.

For more information about research at Peter Mac please visit www.petermac-research.org.

SOURCE Caliper Life Sciences, Inc.

Source: PR Newswire

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