ForteBio Launches New Octet® RED96 System and Dip and Read™ Protein L Biosensor

MENLO PARK, Calif., Feb. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ForteBio®, Inc., a leading supplier of label-free technology that accelerates the development of biotherapeutic and pharmaceutical products, today announced the launch of its Octet RED96 System, as well as its new Dip and Read Protein L Biosensor for use on the company's Octet platform. The product introductions further widen the scope and utility of the company's flagship instrumentation system, which provides real-time, label-free analysis of biomolecular interactions, with unprecedented ease of use and cost-efficiency.

The Octet RED96 system can rapidly measure protein and other biomolecule concentrations, as well as determine kinetics, affinity and specificity of protein-protein and protein-small molecule interactions. It extends the capabilities of the company's premier Octet RED platform by featuring biosensor re-racking, which enables more efficient workflow, reduced amounts of capture molecule use and lower assay-running costs.

"Our new Octet RED96 system enables life science researchers to perform analyses that have traditionally been conducted with SPR, HPLC, ELISA and other single-purpose microfluidics instruments, now with unmatched performance and cost-efficiency," said Christopher Silva, ForteBio's vice president of marketing. "For example, with concentration analysis, the system's 8-channel simultaneous read-out quantitates 96 samples in 30 minutes and its re-racking feature extends the number of tests that can be performed with a single biosensor."

ForteBio's new Dip and Read Protein L biosensor enables rapid and direct quantification of a broad set of kappa light chain containing immunoglobulins, including Fab fragments and single-chain variable fragments otherwise known as ScFv.

"Protein L binds with high affinity to several more species and isotypes than both Protein A and Protein G, giving it broader potential applications," said Mr. Silva. "With ForteBio's new Protein L biosensor, which can be regenerated and reused, scientists can now obtain highly sensitive quantitation results in real time, in a cost-effective and easy-to-use manner. Further, our bioprocess customers will now be able to run a suite of assays in a multiplexed panel format using our Protein A, Protein G and Protein L biosensors."

ForteBio's Octet platform is based on the company's proprietary BioLayer Interferometry (BLI) technology, which uses optical biosensors to measure multiple interactions in parallel, without the use of detection agents. The Octet platform consists of 8- and 16-channel instruments that accommodate 96- and 384-well assay formats. All Octet biosensors are designed to simplify kinetic characterization and quantitation by eliminating throughput and time-to-result limitations of traditional SPR-based assays and ELISA. The Octet biosensors are disposable, configured in a standard microplate format and are coated with a proprietary biocompatible matrix that is uniform, non-denaturing and has minimal non-specific binding.

ABOUT FORTEBIO, INC.

ForteBio is a life science company that provides analytical systems to accelerate biotherapeutic drug discovery and development. These systems enable real-time, label-free analysis of biomolecular interactions, providing information on affinity, kinetics and concentration. ForteBio's analytical capabilities enable significantly easier, faster and better characterization of drug candidates, thus providing greater value in drug development applications where existing methods have limitations in throughput, performance and cost. The company is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, with wholly owned subsidiaries in London and Shanghai. For more information, visit www.fortebio.com.

SOURCE ForteBio, Inc.