MDCC Molecular Devices (MM)

Molecular Devices Introduces IonWorks(R) Quattro(TM) System for Accelerated Ion Channel Screening SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Molecular Devices Corporation (NASDAQ:MDCC), today announced the introduction of IonWorks Quattro, a second-generation ion channel screening instrument with four times the throughput capability over its predecessor, the IonWorks HT. The IonWorks Quattro system was developed using Molecular Devices' Population Patch Clamp(TM) technology, a revolutionary new approach in the planar patch clamp technique. The system will debut at the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, February 12-16 in Long Beach, California at Molecular Devices' Booth #302. The IonWorks Quattro system employs a new PatchPlate(TM) Population Patch Clamp (PPC) substrate, a 384-well planar array that is designed to allow ion channel recordings to be simultaneously collected from multiple cells within each well. The IonWorks Quattro system has shown success rates of 95% or more, which are so high that it is not necessary to apply test compounds redundantly to four wells, thus enabling an immediate four-fold throughput improvement and up to 50% reduction in cost per data point over the IonWorks HT system-the highest throughput electrophysiological screening system available until now. "The PPC technology utilized by the IonWorks Quattro system extends the multi-cell robustness inherent in Molecular Devices' existing fluorescence screening instruments, such as FLIPR(R), to electrophysiology," stated Alan Finkel, Chief Technology Officer at Molecular Devices. "All previous electrophysiological recording systems are limited by the success rate that is achievable with a single cell in a well, which is unlikely to exceed 70% consistently, even under the best of circumstances. The PPC technique is designed to remove the dependence on the expression levels or viability of individual cells, thereby enabling each well to measure the response to a population of cells." "The increased throughput and reduced cost-per-data-point of this system makes it both feasible and affordable to conduct primary screening campaigns of directed library sets," stated Dr. Shawn Handran, IonWorks Quattro Product Marketing Manager at Molecular Devices. "In addition, the IonWorks Quattro is fully compatible with IonWorks HT technology, supporting both the original PatchPlate and new PatchPlate PPC substrates." Ion channels are an important therapeutic target class for diseases of the cardiovascular and central nervous systems. The Company believes that IonWorks Quattro is ideal for many of these applications, from primary screening of directed compound libraries, to hit confirmation, selectivity testing and lead optimization. Ion channels are also important in early safety testing. The IonWorks Quattro system is designed to be used for early screening of lead candidates for unintentional activity on ion channels, such as the cardiac potassium channel, human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG). At the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting, Dr. Finkel will give a technical presentation on the IonWorks Quattro system and Population Patch Clamp technology in a special exhibitor's presentation session on February 13th at 1:30 p.m., Long Beach Convention Center, Room 204. Molecular Devices Corporation is a leading supplier of high-performance bioanalytical measurement systems that accelerate and improve drug discovery and other life sciences research. The Company's systems and consumables enable pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to leverage advances in genomics, proteomics and parallel chemistry to facilitate the high-throughput and cost-effective identification and evaluation of drug candidates. The Company's solutions are based on its advanced core technologies that integrate its expertise in engineering, molecular and cell biology and chemistry. Molecular Devices enables its customers to improve research productivity and effectiveness, which ultimately accelerates the complex process of discovering and developing new drugs. This press release contains "forward-looking" statements, including statements related to the prospects for or potential customer use of the IonWorks Quattro system. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the results of Molecular Devices Corporation to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks related to the development of new products and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, as amended, and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2004. Molecular Devices Corporation does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. DATASOURCE: Molecular Devices Corporation CONTACT: Tim Harkness of Molecular Devices Corporation, +1-408-747-3533 Web site: http://www.moleculardevices.com/

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