STOCKHOLM, Sweden and PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 23, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Affibody AB and Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) today announced a cooperative agreement to develop advanced protein sample preparation solutions for human biomarker discovery.
Affibody will design and develop engineered Affibody(r) ligands for specific protein targets designated by Agilent, which Agilent plans to use to expand its line of proteomic sample preparation products. At the end of the development phase of the agreement, Affibody will supply Agilent with production quantities of the materials.
Under the agreement, Affibody will deliver highly specific and robust affinity capture ligands that will enable Agilent to expand its market-leading Multiple Affinity Removal System technology with new product configurations. These products will enable scientists involved in biomarker discovery from human serum/plasma to continue to dig deeper into the serum proteome, in order to discover and identify potential biomarkers that can be used for human disease diagnosis, monitoring of therapeutic intervention, and prognosis. The robustness of the Affibody(r) ligand permits unsurpassed reproducibility for sample-to-sample comparison, resulting in greater certainty and clarity of scientific data.
"By using the versatile Affibody(r) ligands, we'll be offering our customers a tool to further refine the precision, certainty and reproducibility of proteomics analyses," said Mary Pat Knauss, business manager of Agilent's Bioreagents Products. "The combination of this technology with our current protein fractionation and separation products will enable researchers to dive deeper into the serum/plasma proteome than ever before possible, enhancing their efforts to identify biological markers."
"Agilent is a leading player in the proteomics arena, and we are delighted that they choose Affibody(r) ligands for use in their products," said Torben Joergensen, CEO of Affibody. "This agreement is yet another confirmation of the great commercial interest for Affibody(r) molecules, and the collaboration with Agilent goes well in hand with our firm commitment to establish a long term market presence."
About Agilent Technologies
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) is the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company's 28,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenue of $7.2 billion in fiscal year 2004. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com.
About Affibody
Affibody AB is a Swedish biotech company that uses innovative protein engineering technologies for the development of products for biotherapeutics and biotechnology applications. Among the owners of Affibody AB are the investment companies HealthCap, Schroder Ventures Life Sciences and Investor Growth Capital, a subsidiary of Investor AB. The main office is located in Stockholm. Further information is found on: www.affibody.com
Agilent Technologies Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is subject to the safe harbors created therein. The forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, Agilent's plans to expand its line of proteomic sample preparation products with ligands that have been designed and developed by Affibody. Such information involves risks and uncertainties that could cause Agilent's results to differ materially from management's current expectations. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the rapid development of life sciences technology and fluctuations in demand for life sciences products.
In addition, other risks that Agilent faces in running its operations include the ability to execute successfully through business cycles while it continues to implement cost reductions; the ability to meet and achieve the benefits of its cost-reduction goals and otherwise successfully adapt its cost structures to continuing changes in business conditions; ongoing competitive, pricing and gross margin pressures; the risk that our cost-cutting initiatives will impair our ability to develop products and remain competitive and to operate effectively; the impact of geopolitical uncertainties on our markets and our ability to conduct business; the ability to improve asset performance to adapt to changes in demand; the ability to successfully introduce new products at the right time, price and mix and other risks detailed in Agilent's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Oct. 31, 2004, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended April 30, 2005. Forward-looking statements are based on the belief and assumptions of Agilent's management and on currently available information. Agilent undertakes no responsibility to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement.