Pioneering Human Protein Atlas Project Achieves a Major Milestone

AUSTIN, Texas, March 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ: LMNX) announced today that xMAP® Technology is playing a key role in the biobank profiling research within the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) project.  In the latest release of the protein atlas, the HPA announced coverage of over 80% of the human protein-coding genes and RNA expression data for more than 90% of the genes.

The goal of the Human Protein Atlas project is to explore the entirety of the human proteome using antibody-based proteomics. This pioneering project leverages Luminex's xMAP Technology for biobank research of body fluids. The high-throughput biomarker screening approach combines Luminex technology with several thousand antibodies through multiplexed screening of over 380 targets per well per run.

"We are very excited to be part of this revolutionary systematic exploration of the next frontier in human biology, the human proteome," said Patrick Balthrop president and CEO of Luminex. "This project goes beyond the genome to advance the understanding of human disease and cell function. We look forward to continuing to partner on these groundbreaking projects that advance research by developing products that help scientists make discoveries, and advance science to ultimately improve the health and quality of life for all."

"In addition to our own research, we collaborate with partners to identify interesting candidate biomarkers for a wide range of diseases," said Jochen Schwenk, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Translational Proteomics at KTH Royal Institute of Technology and facility manager at the Science for Life Laboratory.  "The Luminex xMAP Technology has made it possible for us to perform truly flexible and very high-throughput screening of biomarkers using the HPA antibodies on large numbers of samples. We then develop downstream biomarker validation assays on the same xMAP Technology."

About the Human Protein Atlas project

The Human Protein Atlas started as a small research project at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in the research group of Professor Mathias Uhlen in 2000. Since 2003, the non-profit Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation has been the major funding agency for this project involving more than 150 scientists in 17 countries. The protein atlas utilizes antibody-based proteomics to achieve a systematic exploration and subsequent mapping of the human proteome. The project includes a publically available portal for researchers in life sciences and provides access to protein profiling data in 46 normal tissues, 20 cancer tissues and 46 cell lines on a subcellular level. For more information, visit www.proteinatlas.org.

About Science for Life Laboratory

Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab) is a Swedish national center for molecular biosciences with focus on health and environmental research. The center combines frontline technical expertise with advanced knowledge of translational medicine and molecular bioscience. SciLifeLab is a joint effort between four Swedish universities (Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University and Uppsala University). SciLifeLab was established in 2010 and appointed a national center in 2013 by the Swedish government. More than 200 research groups are associated with SciLifeLab, which is situated at two nodes in Stockholm and Uppsala.

About Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ:  LMNX)

Luminex is committed to applying its passion for innovation toward advancing healthcare and research worldwide. The Company is transforming global healthcare and life-science research through the development, manufacturing and marketing of proprietary instruments and assays utilizing xMAP® open-architecture, multi-analyte platform and MultiCode® real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and multiplex PCR-based technologies, that deliver cost-effective and rapid results to clinicians and researchers. Luminex's technology is commercially available worldwide and in use in leading clinical laboratories as well as major pharmaceutical, diagnostic, biotechnology and life-science companies. Luminex is 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 http://www.luminexcorp.com.

Contacts:

Science for Life Laboratory Contact
Mikaela Friedman
[email protected]
+46 8 524 81510

Luminex Investor Contact
Harriss Currie, 512.219.8020
Sr. Vice President of Finance and CFO
[email protected]

Luminex Media Contact
Mimi Torrington, 512.219.8020
Director of Marketing Communications
[email protected]

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SOURCE Luminex Corporation