Posts Tagged ‘drug discovery’

GUILFORD, CONNECTICUT, March 18, 2008 – RainDance Technologies, Inc., a developer of NanoReactor droplet-based microfluidic technology, today announced the appointment of Stephen E. Becker as Vice President, Commercial Officer, effective immediately.

“Mr. Becker will be responsible for continuing the growth of the company’s commercial operations as it prepares for the launch of its first life science offering,” said Chris McNary, President and Chief Executive Officer, RainDance Technologies. “These duties will include the continued development of the sales channels, leading customer service and support programs, and development of the strategic marketing plan.”

The RainDance platform combines emulsion-based droplets and microfluidics to enable a host of existing applications in the company’s nano-scale format, including genomic analysis, cell-based assays, and single molecule detection. Samples such as cells, nucleic acids, proteins, beads, and chemical compounds are encapsulated in individual micron-sized droplets on assay-specific microfludic chips. Since each droplet is the equivalent of a well in a microtiter plate, the RainDance platform can process and analyze up to 10,000 samples per second with unparalleled accuracy.

Becker joins RainDance from Agilent Technologies, where he served as Senior Sales Manager in the company’s Americas Field Operations. There, he led the commercial introduction of novel genetic and epigenetic microarray assays that achieved over 20% growth rates in 2006 and 2007 in the research and molecular diagnostics markets. At GE Healthcare (formerly Amersham Pharmacia Biotech), Becker held several senior management assignments, including Director, Gene and Protein Discovery, and Director, Business Support. He also held sales management positions at Spectrum Chemical Manufacturing Corporation and Curtin Matheson Scientific, Inc. Becker received a bachelor’s degree in biology from St. Mary’s College of California.

“The RainDance droplet technology is a new tool that will allow scientists to accelerate their research through the advantages provided by nano-scale reactions at unparalleled assay speeds in the life science, diagnostic, and industrial markets,” said McNary. “Mr. Becker’s broad experiences will help us develop best-in-class commercial processes that support the introduction of our exciting technology.”

About RainDance Technologies, Inc.
RainDance Technologies, Inc., is a biomedical technology company devoted to developing and commercializing a proprietary droplet-based microfluidics platform. The core of our technology is the generation of stable, nano-liter sized droplets that act as the functional equivalent of a test tube, or a well on a microtiter plate. Each droplet can encapsulate an individual sample of cells or reagents for both preparative and analytical life science and chemical analysis applications. RainDance recognizes that the rate and scale of research are accelerating dynamically, and for researchers to keep pace with these demands, they need the benefits of high-quality individualized reactions generated on a massive scale. Our vision is to be the worldwide leader in massively parallel sample processing and analytical solutions that provide a new standard of data quality.

RainDance has developed instrumentation and disposable microfluidic circuits that enable researchers to generate experimental results faster than existing methodologies, with increased throughput and decreased experimental variability. We will provide these tools to academic and commercial researchers working on a variety of basic and applied research applications. Our proprietary emulsion chemistries and microfluidic manufacturing process allow our platform to miniaturize many biological and chemical assays. These same core attributes will allow the RainDance platform to perform biological and chemical applications previously unimaginable or unaffordable using conventional laboratory or microfluidic techniques.

The company was founded in 2004 by scientists from Harvard University, the Medical Research Centre in Cambridge, and the ESPCI in Paris. The promise of this technology has attracted an outstanding Scientific Advisory Board, including three Nobel Prize winners (Jean-Marie Lehn, Sir Aaron Klug, and Dr. Richard Roberts) and Sir Gregory Winter.

The company’s areas of focus include genomics, proteomics, cell biology, and molecular diagnostics. Importantly, we continue to expand our capabilities by partnering with the research community and commercial development partners to generate novel applications of the core RainDance technology.

For more information, please visit http://www.raindancetechnologies.com/.

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Public Relations contact: Tiziani Whitmyre Inc., http://www.tizinc.com/

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Technorati tags: droplet based microfluidics, drug discovery, industrial enzyme development, integrated fluid handling, microfluidics, nanotechnology, molecular diagnostic, World Economic Forum, Technology Pioneer

Guildford, Connecticut, USA — 29 November 2007 – RainDance Technologies has been selected as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer. Technology Pioneers were nominated by the world’s leading technology experts and final selection from 273 nominees was made by a panel of leading technology experts. Technology Pioneers are invited to participate in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland

Dr. Jonathan M. Rothberg, co-founder and chairman of RainDance Technologies was selected to represent RainDance as a 2008 Technology Pioneer at Davos this year.

“We started RainDance with an amazing group of co-founders and advisors with the mission to have a profound impact on the way life science research is undertaken, we wanted to create the laboratory equivalent of the personal computer”, said Dr. Rothberg. “Our vision ‘A RainDance Professional Laboratory System in every lab’ has attracted an active scientific advisory board including three Nobel Prize winners. It is great to have RainDance recognized by the World Economic Forum as a company with the potential to change people’s lives – to improve the way people do research from fields as diverse as the life sciences and bio-energy.”

While RainDance has affected the way it’s academic and industrial partners do research, RainDance is now focused on delivering its products to the world’s market in 2008. RainDance designed the Professional Laboratory System (PLS) to be the biochemical equivalent of a personal computer. The key to this innovation is the novel combination of microdroplets and microfluidics to create and route digital packets of biochemical information called NanoReactors. The PLS is a versatile lab-on-chip, able to perform laboratory functions at speeds and complexities not possible with existing instruments. Like a computer manipulates bits of information, the PLS enables the programmable handling of fluid samples for innovative assay and screening applications.

Technology Pioneers are companies that have been identified as developing and applying highly transformational and innovative technologies in the areas of energy, biotechnology and health, and information technology. To be selected as a Technology Pioneer, a company must be involved in the development of life-changing technology innovation and have the potential for long-term impact on business and society. In addition, it must demonstrate visionary leadership, show all the signs of being a long-standing market leader – and its technology must be proven. Previous Technology Pioneers have included Business Objects, Cambridge Silicon Radio, Corel Corporation, Encore Software, Google, Mozilla Corporation and Napster.

Twenty-three of the Technology Pioneers 2008 are US-based companies. Israel and the United Kingdom each boast three; Sweden and Switzerland two each; Canada, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands and Russia, one each. Technology Pioneers are nominated in three main categories: Energy/Environment, Biotechnology/Health and Information Technology.

“This year the World Economic Forum received a record number of applications from companies around the world to become a Technology Pioneer. From a highly competitive field, we are extremely pleased to have a community that is using innovation and technology to dramatically affect the way society and business operate and doing so in a markedly collaborative manner. We are excited to welcome the Technology Pioneers class of 2008 to the larger community of the World Economic Forum and we are looking forward to the fruits that their collaboration will bring,” said Peter Torreele, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum.

About Dr. Jonathan Rothberg
Dr. Rothberg was born in 1963 in New Haven, Connecticut. He earned a B.S. in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and a Ph.D. in biology from Yale University. Most recently Dr. Rothberg completed the first sequence of an individual human being (James D. Watson) and initiated the Neanderthal Genome project. Dr. Rothberg is the founder of 454 Life Science, Clarifi Corporation, CuraGen Corporation, , Ion Torrent Systems, The Rothberg Institute for Childhood Diseases, and the co-founder and Chairman of RainDance Technologies. Dr. Rothberg was named an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year and is the receipt of The Wall Street Journal’s Gold Medal for Innovation for his invention of 454 sequencing, and The Irvington Institute’s Corporate Leadership Award in Science. His scientific work has been featured on the covers of Cell, Science, and Nature. Dr. Rothberg’s invention of the first new way to sequence DNA on a chip – 454 Sequencing, has been instrumental in work as diverse as solving the mystery behind the disappearance of the honey bee and unlocking the complexity of the world’s ecosystems. Dr. Rothberg is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, and serves on the board of trustees of Carnegie Mellon University.

About Raindance Technologies
RainDance Technologies, Inc. is a nanotechnology company devoted to developing and commercializing the Professional Laboratory System, a platform for droplet-based microfluidics. The Professional Laboratory System is an integrated fluid handling system that provides precise manipulation of minute amounts of fluids for a variety of industrial and research applications within genomic, drug discovery, industrial enzyme development, and molecular diagnostic markets. At the core of the system’s power are assay-specific NanoReactor chips composed of fluid handling modules that encapsulate samples and reactants in individual micron-sized droplets. Founded in 2004 by scientists from Harvard University, the Medical Research Centre in Cambridge, and the ESPCI in Paris, RainDance Technologies designed the Professional Laboratory System to enable a host of nanoscale assays including cell-based and single molecule experiments. Samples (cells, beads, DNA templates, chemical compounds) and reactants are encapsulated in individual micron-sized droplets on assay-specific NanoReactor chips. With each droplet being the equivalent of a well in a microtiter plate, the Professional Laboratory System can process and analyze up to 10,000 samples per second with unparalleled accuracy. The precise manipulation of minute amounts of fluids within NanoReactor droplets will benefit a variety of industrial and research applications, including DNA sequencing preparation, enzyme engineering, functional cell sorting, multiplex PCR, SNP detection, gene expression, and RNAi functional assays. The promise of this technology has attracted an outstanding Scientific Advisory Board, including three Nobel Prize winners (Jean-Marie Lehn, Sir Aaron Klug, and Dr. Richard Roberts) and Sir Gregory Winter. For more information, please visit http://www.raindancetechnologies.com/.

About the World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

Incorporated as a foundation in 1971, and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. (http://www.weforum.org).

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Public Relations contact: Tiziani Whitmyre Inc., http://www.tizinc.com

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Technorati tags: droplet based microfluidics, drug discovery, industrial enzyme development, integrated fluid handling, microfluidics, nanotechnology, molecular diagnostic, World Economic Forum, Technology Pioneer

Guilford, Connecticut, USA, November 28, 2007 – RainDance Technologies, Inc., a developer of NanoReactor droplet-based microfluidic technology, today announced the appointment of Christopher McNary as President and Chief Executive Officer. McNary will join Jonathan Rothberg, Chairman of the Board, in driving RainDance Technologies’ vision and the upcoming commercial launch of its Professional Laboratory System in the Life Sciences and other related markets.

“Mr. McNary joins an outstanding leadership team that includes a distinguished Scientific Advisory Board with three Nobel Prize recipients and a Board of Directors with the former Presidents of Applied Biosystems and Affymetrix, plus an experienced Partner from Mohr Davidow Ventures,” said Rothberg. “He will assist us in attracting additional talent to develop first-rate manufacturing and customer support capabilities and to commercially launch our exciting new products and applications.”The RainDance Professional Laboratory System combines microdroplets and microfluidics to enable a host of nanoscale cell-based and molecular assays. Samples (cells, beads, DNA templates, chemical compounds) and reactants are encapsulated in individual micron-sized droplets on assay-specific NanoReactor chips. With each droplet being the equivalent of a well in a microtiter plate, the Professional Laboratory System can process and analyze 10,000 samples per second with unparalleled accuracy. The precise manipulation of minute amounts of fluids within NanoReactor droplets will benefit a variety of industrial and research applications, including DNA sequencing preparation, enzyme engineering, functional cell sorting, multiplex PCR, SNP detection, gene expression, and RNAi functional assays.

“Our Professional Laboratory System is game-changing technology that has attracted a tremendous level of market interest,” said Darren Link, Senior Vice President of Research and Development and RainDance Technologies founder. “Mr. McNary’s depth of expertise and proven leadership in the commercialization of life science tools will be instrumental in guiding our company’s growth. I look forward to working with him and our visionary Board of Directors to transform the future of laboratory practices,” he said.

Mr. McNary has more than 25 years of experience in Life Sciences and Diagnostic markets with 14 years in senior management positions. He joins RainDance from Thermo Fisher Scientific where he was Vice President and General Manager. He also has served as President and CEO of early-stage start-up companies and held executive management positions at Chiron Diagnostics and Tecan.

“RainDance has built an impressive management team supported by a Scientific Advisory and Board of Directors with the proven experience in commercializing innovative technology platforms such as the Professional Laboratory System,” said McNary. “This team and platform are well positioned to realize the full benefits of microfluidics in a variety of markets and applications.”

About RainDance Technologies, Inc.
RainDance Technologies, Inc. is a nanotechnology company devoted to developing and commercializing the Professional Laboratory System, a platform for droplet-based microfluidics. The Professional Laboratory System is an integrated fluid handling system that provides precise manipulation of minute amounts of fluids for a variety of industrial and research applications within genomic, drug discovery, industrial enzyme development, and molecular diagnostic markets. At the core of the system’s power are assay-specific NanoReactor chips composed of fluid handling modules that encapsulate samples and reactants in individual micron-sized droplets. Founded in 2004 by scientists from Harvard University, the Medical Research Centre in Cambridge, and the ESPCI in Paris, RainDance Technologies designed the Professional Laboratory System to be the chemical equivalent of a personal computer. As a computer manipulates bits of information, the system’s NanoReactor technology enables the programmable handling of cells and fluid samples for innovative assay and screening applications. The promise of this technology has attracted an outstanding Scientific Advisory Board, including three Nobel Prize winners (Jean-Marie Lehn, Sir Aaron Klug, and Dr. Richard Roberts) and Sir Gregory Winter. For more information, please visit http://www.raindancetechnologies.com/.

# # #

Public Relations contact: Tiziani Whitmyre Inc., http://www.tizinc.com/

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Technorati tags: nanotechnology, Professional Laboratory System, droplet-based microfluidics, microfluidics, integrated fluid handling system, genomic, drug discovery,industrial enzyme development, molecular diagnostic