Life Technologies Showcases Leading Technologies for Companion Diagnostic Development, Cancer Research at the ASCO Annual Meeting 2012

CARLSBAD, Calif., June 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) will exhibit platforms for companion diagnostic development and products ideal for basic, translational and clinical cancer research during the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2012, taking place June 1 – June 5, in Chicago, Illinois. In addition, several of the company's customers will present clinical research findings obtained with Life's sequencing technologies.

"Life Technologies offers platforms across the spectrum of genomics and proteomics that can be utilized in companion diagnostic development," said Ronnie Andrews, president of medical sciences at Life Technologies. "We share with our pharma partners a dedication to the movement toward personalized treatments based on the specific defects driving cancer in each individual patient."

In October 2011, Life announced a partnership with GlaxoSmithKline to develop a companion molecular test for a GSK candidate cancer immunotherapy.

Presentations:

AmpliSeq panels accurately identify more than 700 mutations in patient samples – Marilyn Li, Ph.D., professor of molecular and human genetics and director of the Cancer Genetics Lab at Baylor College of Medicine, will present a poster demonstrating use of the Life Technologies Ion AmpliSeq™ cancer panels to sequence 12 archived tumor research samples including FFPE, bone marrow and cell line samples. The authors report that the panel accurately identified all known mutations previously detected using Pyrosequencing or Sanger sequencing and was sensitive enough to detect mutations at frequencies as low as 5% with 99% confidence. The poster will be presented June 4, Monday afternoon from 1:15 to 5:15.

AmpliSeq panels validated in CLIA lab with rapid turn-around for tumor sample sequencing – Christopher Corless, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer of the Knight Diagnostic Laboratories at Oregon Health & Science University's Knight Cancer Institute, will present results using the Ion Torrent (Life Technologies) AmpliSeq Cancer Panel in a CLIA-licensed/CAP-certified setting. Forty-five FFPE tumor samples were sequenced, and the results matched those obtained via previous mass spec-based genotyping and revealed an additional 27 new mutations. Preliminary data from a custom AmpliSeq GI Stromal Tumor (GIST) panel will also be shown. The poster will be presented June 4, Monday afternoon from 1:15 to 5:15.

Featured Products:

Life Technologies offers cancer researchers the ability to detect mutations in cancer-associated genes using both PCR and sequencing platforms.

Ion Personal Genome Machine (Ion PGM™) and Ion Proton™ – Between the benchtop Ion PGM™ Sequencer and the benchtop Ion Proton™ Sequencer, the Ion Torrent technology can cover any application. The Ion PGM™ Sequencer is ideal for sequencing genes, small genomes, panels of genes, or performing gene expression profiling, and its speed, simplicity and scalability also make it an ideal platform to extend into diagnostics. 

The Ion Proton™ Sequencer is ideal for sequencing both exomes — regions in the DNA that code for protein — and human genomes.  The Ion Proton™ I Chip, ideal for sequencing exomes, will be available mid-2012. The Ion Proton™ II Chip, ideal for sequencing whole human genomes, will be available six months later.  In addition, the Ion Proton™ OneTouch™ system automates template prep and a stand-alone Ion Proton™Torrent Server performs the primary and secondary data analysis.

QuantStudio™ 12K Flex Real-Time PCR System – The growing demand of biomarker screening experiments, particularly in early pharmacogenomics research, has created a greater need for high-throughput technology that can provide answers faster, more accurately and at a reasonable price per reaction. The QuantStudio™ 12K Flex system addresses this with its ability to generate more than 12,000 high-quality, TaqMan® data points per run, or up to 110,000 data points in an eight-hour workday.  Users can also run digital PCR experiments on the instrument using nanofluidic consumables and dedicated analysis software for increased sensitivity and specificity.

Ion AmpliSeq™ Cancer Panels – The Ion AmpliSeq™ Cancer Panel allows scientists to sequence dozens of genes in cancer research samples within several hours, starting with as little as 10 ng of DNA. The panel detects more than 700 mutations across 46 known cancer genes. In addition, Ion AmpliSeq™ Custom panels allow researchers to design custom panels for genomic regions up to 250 Kb in size, which will expand to 1 Mb later in the year.

These products are available as Research Use Only, Not for Diagnostic Use.

Visit Life Technologies in Booth #19117 on the Exhibits floor of McCormick Place West.

About Life Technologies

Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) is a global biotechnology company with customers in more than 160 countries using its innovative solutions to solve some of today's most difficult scientific challenges. Quality and innovation are accessible to every lab with its reliable and easy-to-use solutions spanning the biological spectrum with more than 50,000 products for translational research, molecular medicine and diagnostics, stem cell-based therapies, forensics, food safety and animal health. Its systems, reagents and consumables represent some of the most cited brands in scientific research including: Ion Torrent™, Applied Biosystems®,  Invitrogen™, GIBCO®, Ambion®, Molecular Probes®, Novex®, and TaqMan®. Life Technologies employs approximately 10,400 people and upholds its ongoing commitment to innovation with more than 4,000 patents and exclusive licenses. LIFE had sales of $3.7 billion in 2011. Visit us at our website: http://www.lifetechnologies.com.

Life Technologies' Safe Harbor Statement

This press release includes forward-looking statements about Life Technologies' anticipated results that involve risks and uncertainties. Some of the information contained in this press release, including, but not limited to, statements as to industry trends and Life Technologies' plans, objectives, expectations and strategy for its business, contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. When used, the words "believe," "plan," "intend," "anticipate," "target," "estimate," "expect" and the like, and/or future tense or conditional constructions ("will," "may," "could," "should," etc.), or similar expressions, identify certain of these forward-looking statements. Important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are detailed in filings made by Life Technologies with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Life Technologies undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

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Life Technologies Contact
Suzanne Clancy
760-717-8294 (mobile)
[email protected]

SOURCE Life Technologies Corporation