I thought I remembered in old pr's that they had a contract with Corning, but I couldn't find mention in current pr's, and this perked my interest:
GLW : CORNING INC (NYSE)
Corning to Enter Fast-Growing Market for DNA Microarrays Used in Genomic Research
MIAMI, Sep 12, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW chart, msgs) used the 12th annual Genome Sequencing and Analysis Conference today in Miami to announce that it is entering the high-growth market for tools used to accelerate genomic research and speed the discovery of new drugs.
The company will enter the market by using a proprietary, high-volume process to manufacture microarrays used by research scientists to simultaneously analyze thousands of genes.
According to Corning, the new manufacturing process will enable it to manufacture one DNA microarray per minute, 10 to 20 times faster than today's conventional processes. In addition, Corning estimates that its process will allow it to produce thousands of arrays during a single production run, versus conventional processes, which are typically limited to less than 500 microarrays.
The company's entry into the market for microarrays is consistent with its recent concentration on high-growth markets, including fiber-optic technologies used to expand the capacity of the Internet, and flat-panel displays used in computers, digital cameras and personal digital assistants. According to Corning, the market for DNA microarrays is expected to grow from $250 million today to $1 billion in 2005. The company said that its microarrays will be in full commercial production by the first quarter of next year and that it believes it has the potential to capture a leadership position in the marketplace before 2005.
The new manufacturing process is expected to significantly expand the research community's access to DNA microarrays and to allow researchers to avoid having to pay large up-front fees or to sign long-term contracts, as is common practice in the industry today. According to Pierce Baker, Corning senior vice president of Life Sciences, "DNA microarrays are a vital tool in the race by pharmaceutical companies to bring safe, effective drugs and disease therapies to market as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. Researchers, whether they work for a large pharmaceutical company, a start-up biotech firm or a small university laboratory, will no longer be hampered by a lack of affordable, high-quality microarrays."
The new manufacturing process is designed to deliver a very high level of consistency and reproducibility from one array to the next, overcoming a significant challenge faced by the industry today. "This will ultimately lead to enhanced test sensitivity and the generation of more consistent, high-quality data than is available today," Baker said.
Unique Manufacturing Process Leverages Three Corning Technologies
The new manufacturing process combines process technologies used to make other Corning products, including an extrusion process used to make cellular substrates used at the heart of automotive catalytic converters, a glass redraw process used to manufacture hair-thin strands of optical fiber, and a micro-printing process formerly used to apply decorative patterns to consumer cookware.
In essence, the company is able to take a honeycomb-like glass substrate with thousands of individual cells and have it drawn-down, reducing the diameter of each cell by 500% or more. During the draw-down process, the integrity and structure of each cell is perfectly maintained. It is then used as a "reservoir", with each cell holding its own unique DNA sequence. Through a separate micro-printing technique, the entire contents of a reservoir can be printed simultaneously, in a massively parallel manner, onto a single glass slide. Corning is working with a number of companies to ensure superior DNA content and to validate product performance.
To create this process, Corning leveraged numerous technologies already developed within other areas of the company. "We recognized that several of our core competencies - including advanced materials, surface technologies, and optics - could be brought together to develop a new solution for DNA microarray production," noted Baker. "Applying technology across the company not only makes good business sense, it also allowed us to establish our microarray manufacturing process with designed in process quality and reproducibility." The Corning Life Sciences division, which will produce the arrays, has been manufacturing and supplying laboratory products for the life science research industry since 1915, when it introduced Pyrex laboratory glass.
Microarrays enable numerous key aspects of the research and discovery process for drug development, including gene discovery, disease-target identification, pathway characterization, and drug screening. Corning's microarrays are currently undergoing beta testing at laboratories in the U.S. and Europe.
Established in 1851, Corning Incorporated (www.corning.com) creates leading-edge technologies for the fastest-growing markets of the world's economy. Corning manufactures optical fiber, cable and photonic products for the telecommunications industry; and high-performance displays and components for television and other communications-related industries. The company also uses advanced materials to manufacture products for scientific, semiconductor and environmental markets. Corning's revenues in 1999 were $4.7 billion.
Forward-Looking Cautionary Statements
Except for historical information and discussions contained herein, statements included in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause results to differ materially, as discussed in the company's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
Corning
Media Relations
Robert W. DeMallie, 607/974-8778
demallierw@corning.com
or
Investor Relations
Katherine M. Dietz, 607/974-8217
dietzkm@corning.com |
