Union Biometrica developed for Carlsberg Laboratory a new product utilizing its breakthrough COPAS Technology Platform in order to screen huge combinatorial libraries while the compounds are still attached to the beads on which they are generated. The Carlsberg Laboratory’s combinatorial chemistry group is using the computerized COPAS system for pharmaceutical research in collaboration with the newly formed biotech company Combio A/S. Combio A/S is a drug discovery company dedicated to the translation of genomic research into novel therapeutic candidates (www.combio.dk).

The COPAS system accurately sorts rare "hit" compounds from hundreds of thousands of possibilities, reducing considerably the time it takes to obtain leads on potential pharmaceuticals.

Meldal’s group is particularly interested in the study of enzyme inhibitors, compounds that limit the impact of viruses, bacteria and parasites. Such inhibitors, for example, could be used to develop more effective barriers against HIV. Some of these programs are carried out for Combio A/S.

Carlsberg A/S has patented special tiny beads, called PEGA Beads, that are buoyant in water and are therefore ideally suited for the COPAS system, which is based on flow cytometry. Used in combinatorial chemistry research at Carlsberg Laboratory, the beads can identify compounds that could form the basis for new drugs.

"Combinatorial chemistry researchers have been looking for a means to rapidly and automatically sort chemical compounds while still maintaining the integrity of the bead," said Petra Krauledat, co-founder of Union Biometrica "The COPAS platform gives scientists an extremely accurate high-throughput alternative, allowing them to cut their research time by days, weeks and even months."

Scientists can use the COPAS platform to dispense drug libraries, or "hits," into 24-, 96- or 384-well microtiter plates. The beads, which can range in size depending on the researcher’s needs, are automatically sorted and identified by the computerized system, with no breakage and no contamination.

In addition to this high throughput drug screening application the COPAS technology is also used by major pharmaceutical companies to sort, dispense and screen drugs on model organisms such as the fruitfly, D. melanogaster; the nematode worm, C. elegans; and increasingly the zebrafish, D. rerio. The COPAS Technology Platform is the world’s only automated system for high-throughput testing of live model organisms, it can sort up to 100 organisms per second.

About Harvard Bioscience Inc.

Harvard Bioscience is a global developer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative, enabling tools in drug discovery research at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities and government laboratories. HBIO sells approximately 10,000 products to thousands of researchers in over 60 countries though its direct sales force, 1,000 page catalog, and through its distributors, the most notable of which is AP Biotech. HBIO has sales and manufacturing operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium with sales facilities in France and Canada. For more information please visit www.harvardbioscience.com or www.unionbio.com.

About Carlsberg Research Center

The Carlsberg Research Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, a part of Carlsberg A/S, is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and employs more than 150 scientists and technicians who work within enzyme chemistry, protein chemistry, carbohydrate chemistry, plant physiology and genetics and malt, yeast and brewing processes. For more information, please visit www.carlsberg.com/info or www.crc.dk.

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