Japanese Drug Company Buys Zymark Automation System

Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo) has purchased an Allegro Combo system for high throughput screening from Zymark Corp. (Hopkinton, MA). The system is the first Allegro Combo to be deployed in Japan. Taiho will use the system in its drug discovery operation.

The Allegro Combo system is intended for laboratories that may not be processing at the ultra high throughput level, yet is cost-competitive with conventional, more complex, single robot systems. By using a "pass-back" technique, individual readers, washers, incubators, and other plate handlers can perform multiple assay steps, allowing even very complex assays to be run using relatively few modules. Additional modules can be added for higher throughput.

Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., a member of the Otsuka Group of companies, researches, develops, and markets anti-cancer, cardiovascular, and immunologic agents.

Zymark Corp. develops laboratory automation products for pharmaceutical and biotechnology applications. Zymark serves the worldwide pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, and hosts the annual ISLAR conference on laboratory automation.

For more information, call Lynda Thomas of Zymark at 508-497-6549 or e-mail lynda.thomas@zymark.com.

Edited by Jim Pomager