Luminex Corporation to Speak at Joint Department of Defense and Environmental Protection Agency 5th National Bio-Threat Conference

AUSTIN, Texas, March 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ: LMNX) today announced Dr. Amy Altman, vice president of Biodefense will present at the 5th National Bio-Threat Conference, taking place March 27-29, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. The meeting is sponsored by the Department of Defense's Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense, Joint Project Manager Biological Defense, Joint Project Manager Guardian The Department of Homeland Security and the Environmental Protection Agency.    

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During the conference, Dr. Altman will present "MAGPIX®: A Compact, Robust LED-based xMAP® Analyzer for the Multiplex Detection of Bio-Threat Agents and Emerging Infectious Diseases" in Session 14: Latest and Greatest Chaired by Joseph Hamel, Department of Defense's Joint Program Manager, Biological Defense. Dr. Altman's presentation will take place on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 1:20 p.m. MDT at the Sheraton Denver Downtown, Plaza Ballroom E.

Providing nearly 5,000 data points in under an hour, MAGPIX was designed to meet the needs of laboratories, academic researchers and scientists who, until now, have been unable to take advantage of the power of multiplexing because of resource and space limitations.  The affordable LED-based system requires reduced sample reagents and hands-on time required for installation, operation and maintenance.  MAGPIX is easy to install out of the box and weighs less than 40 lbs., approximately 18 kg, making it simple and affordable to ship and deploy anywhere in the world. 

Dr. Altman will present MAGPIX data and provide commentary regarding on-board assay automation enhancements, allowing full automation from raw sample to answer.  MAGPIX has been tested in field tests conducted in a Technology Readiness Evaluation by the US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center.

"Since its launch in July 2010, our innovative MAGPIX instrument has been well received in the marketplace.  This system provides an innovative, affordable option that is highly attractive to laboratories during the current challenging economic times," said Patrick Balthrop, president and CEO of Luminex.  "MAGPIX is opening new doors to laboratories, and we believe it has the same potential for detection of biothreat.  We are extremely proud not only of the versatility of our technology for use in multiple and diverse applications, but for our ability to provide solutions that advance healthcare, save lives and protect public safety."

The 5th National Bio-Threat Conference provides a forum for dialogue between government, industry, academia, and first responders to address critical issues in environmental sampling, bio-detection, clinical diagnostics, and biosurveillance.  Understanding that a critical component of combating biological threat is to ensure warfighters, first responders, and laboratory technicians are prepared and equipped, the conference offers first responders from military and civil defense the opportunity to exchange techniques, ideas and lessons learned, along with demonstrations of new and innovative equipment and methodologies.  For more information, please visit: 5th National Bio-Threat Conference 2012.

About Luminex Corporation
Luminex is committed to applying its passion for innovation to advancing healthcare and research worldwide. We are transforming global healthcare and life-science research through the development, manufacturing, and marketing of proprietary instruments and assays utilizing our xMAP® open-architecture, multi-analyte platform, and our MultiCode® real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and multiplex PCR-based technologies, that deliver cost-effective and rapid results to clinicians and researchers. Our technology is commercially available worldwide and in use in leading clinical laboratories as well as major pharmaceutical, diagnostic, biotechnology and life-science companies. We are meeting the needs of customers in markets as diverse as clinical diagnostics, pharmaceutical drug discovery, biomedical research including genomic and proteomic research, personalized medicine, bio-defense research and food safety. For further information on Luminex Corporation and the latest advances in multiplexing using award winning technology please visit our website at http://www.luminexcorp.com.

SOURCE Luminex Corporation