AB SCIEX and Phytronix Improve High-Throughput Pharmaceutical Application

Integration of LDTD with DiscoveryQuant Software streamlines high-throughput method development

FRAMINGHAM, MA. October 15, 2012.

AB SCIEX, a global leader in life science analytical technologies, and Phytronix Technologies today announced the integration of Phytronix’s LDTD (Laser Diode Thermal Desorption) ion source with AB SCIEX’s DiscoveryQuant™ Software, giving discovery pharmaceutical scientists a faster, more streamlined method development process than was previously available for early ADME workflows. The new solution was launched this week at the AAPS 2012 conference. It includes automated method optimisation and is ideally suited for laboratories that run thousands of samples per day in a regulated environment, especially those with the need for global connectivity to compound database libraries.

The integration gives scientists the ability to use DiscoveryQuant Software to control the LDTD source and, when coupled with the AB SCIEX Triple Quad™ and QTRAP® mass spectrometry portfolio, to achieve speeds that rival any other product for high-throughput applications in the market today, with sample-to-sample cycle times as low as four seconds. This MS/MS solution bypasses LC time scales, providing a much faster approach to method development and optimization. It is expected to improve efficiency and boost productivity.

“We are delivering on the promise of our initial collaboration announcement with AB SCIEX one year ago,” said Jean Lacoursiere, President of Phytronix Technologies. “We are delivering a more comprehensive and truly unmatched tool for drug discovery. We are proving that LDTD-MS/MS is a winning combination.”

By combining the LDTD source with DiscoveryQuant software, it is possible to automatically determine optimal ion path parameters for maximum sensitivity, while populating a shared central database with this critical information. DiscoveryQuant can then access this method database for use in assays with the LDTD source. The output of this new LDTD-MS/MS workflow feeds into compound database libraries that pharmaceutical scientists need to advance their drug discovery and development work, and allows researchers worldwide to share MS/MS methodologies online.

“Working with innovative front-end source providers such as Phytronix is part of AB SCIEX’s commitment to the high-throughput market,” said Dave Hicks, Vice President of the Pharmaceutical and Academic Business at AB SCIEX. “With our expertise in software for MS/MS applications, we have extended our partnership with Phytronix to give pharmaceutical scientists access to a novel workflow that pushes the limits.”

About Phytronix

Founded in 2000, Phytronix Technologies Inc. is a privately-owned company based in Quebec City, province of Quebec, Canada. The company produces and markets laboratory scientific instruments and exports LDTD Technology around the world. Since its establishment, the company shows a growth of 20% to 40% per year. For more information, go to www.phytronix.com.

About AB SCIEX

AB SCIEX helps to improve the world we live in by enabling scientists and laboratory analysts to push the limits in their field and address the complex analytical challenges they face. The company’s global leadership and world-class service and support in the mass spectrometry industry have made it a trusted partner to thousands of the scientists and lab analysts worldwide who are focused on basic research, drug discovery and development, food and environmental testing, forensics and clinical research. With over 25 years of proven innovation, AB SCIEX excels by listening to and understanding the ever-evolving needs of its customers to develop reliable, sensitive and intuitive solutions that continue to redefine what is achievable in routine and complex analysis. For more information about the company, go to www.absciex.com.