UPPSALA, Sweden, May 2, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Personal Chemistry today announced that it has acquired ESyTech AB of Lund, Sweden, a company that is developing technology for the automation of sample preparation and analysis. No financial details were disclosed.
ESyTech has developed a membrane-based separation system in miniaturized format which enables the automation of sample preparation and analysis. The system may be used in many different instances where sample preparation is required; within the pharmaceutical industry and initially other industries. The sample preparation market is estimated at over $500 million. Personal Chemistry will integrate ESyTech's technology into its Coherent Synthesis(TM) platform.
Coherent Synthesis incorporates innovative chemistry methodology, software, automation, microwave technology and reagents to speed up chemical reactions by between 10 and 1000 times, often with an increased yield of the compound. In addition to the increased speed and yield, the technology may solve complex chemistry problems that were previously very difficult to undertake using traditional methods.
"It is the company's strategy to continue the development and expansion of Coherent Synthesis," said Hans Johansson, CEO Personal Chemistry. "The acquisition of ESyTech extends the platform by adding equipment, knowledge and expertise at the sample preparation and analysis stage which further enhances the advantages that Coherent Synthesis already offers its customers over traditional chemistry."
NOTES TO EDITORS
Personal Chemistry is a private Swedish company that develops and markets Coherent Synthesis, a complete solution for faster chemistry development within medicinal and combinatorial chemistry. The company has its headquarters in Uppsala and subsidiaries in Boston (U.S.), Cambridge (U.K.) and Konstanz (Germany). Personal Chemistry currently employs 100 people of whom more than 40 are chemists. The company was founded by Dr Soeren Nygren and financed by HealthCap in 1998. 3i, Investor Growth Capital, Bank Invest and SEB have also invested in Personal Chemistry.
ESyTech is a Swedish company that develops technology for the automation of chemical analysis by integrating sample preparation and instrumentation for final analysis. ESyTech was founded in 2000 by Dr Eddie Thordarson and Dr Jan Norberg, as a spinout from the department of Analytical Chemistry, Lund University, Sweden. The preparation of compound samples has traditionally been a time-consuming, manual operation. ESyTech's technology has automated this process resulting in a decrease in manual preparation times by up to 90 percent.
Membranes may be used for the separation of compounds from fluids. ESyTech has developed a patented device that uses membranes to extract and concentrate compounds. The systems do not require manual intervention, thus radically decreasing the time normally required to prepare samples. Moreover the technology can offer more than a thousand-fold decrease in the use of organic solvent and a potential increase in the sample throughput.