Company Announcements

In January, MS software provider Protein Metrics announced that sales doubled in 2016 and that Chief Business Officer Eric Carlson, PhD, was named president and CEO. He replaces Christopher Becker, PhD, who continues as a Scientific Advisor. 

Protein Biosciences announced in January a renewal of its collaboration agreement with Protein Metrics.

In February, Protein Metrics and Bruker Daltonik signed a formal comarketing agreement. The companies will comarket biopharmaceutical software solutions using the Protein Metrics software in combination with Bruker’s maXis-II UHR-QTOF and rapifleX MALDI-TOF/TOF MS systems. They will also develop workflow solutions for challenging assays.

Contract research and manufacturing organization Albany Molecular Research (AMRI) announced in February a strategic alliance with Bruker Daltonics and HighRes Biosolutions to develop new applications for using HT MS for drug discovery. AMRI acquired a MALDI PharmaPulse system, on which protocols will be developed. AMRI will also extend the utility of the system to encompass complex cell-based assays and an expanded portfolio of MS-based biochemical assays.

Protea Biosciences entered a comarketing agreement with MatTek in January, enabling it to offer MatTek’s human cell–based in vitro tissue models with its molecular imaging services.

In January, PharmaFluidics, a developer of µPAC micro-chip–based chromatography cartridges, raised €2.7 million ($2.9 million) of additional funding.

Microsaic Systems named Professor Eric Yeatman as interim chairman in January.

In February, 908 Devices announced a coexclusive, two-year Value Added Reseller Agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific. Thermo Fisher will sell 908 Devices’ ZipChip as a complimentary front-end separations platform for the Q Exactive series, Orbitrap Elite and LTQ Orbitrap XL MS systems.

In February, Biognosys obtained an exclusive license from ETH Zurich for Limited Proteolysis technology to study protein structural changes. Biognosys is developing applications for the technology, including identification of small molecular binding sites and proteome-wide discovery of induced structural change. Biognosys plans to commercialize the technology as a contract research service later this year.

Waters announced in February that the Centers of Innovation Program at the Bioprocessing Technology Institute, a research institute under Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research, joined the Waters Center for Innovation Program. It is the first research institute focused on glycobiology to join the Program.

Product Introductions

In January, Waters announced the CE marking of the Waters MassTrak Vitamin D Solution for the quantitative measurement of 25(OH) D₂ and D₃ (25-OH-VitD) from human plasma and serum. It is currently only available for sale in Europe. The company called it the first CE-marked, single-vendor solution to measure vitamins both independently and accurately from human plasma and serum in a single analysis. The solution includes the ACQUITY UPLC I-Class/Xevo TQD IVD System, MassTrak Vitamin D Kit and MassLynx (IVD) Mass Spectrometry Software.

908 Devices released in January enhancements to its ZipChip system for front-end separation for MS. It now features an integrated autosampler, built-in chip recognition intelligence and applications-specific assay kits (ZipChip Antibody Kit, Peptide Kit and Metabolite Kit).

In January, Bruker introduced Biopharma Compass 2.0 software for the automation of biopharmaceutical characterization workflows for high-resolution MS. It unifies data from MALDI TOF/TOF and ESI-UHR-QTOF. New features include a 3D feature finder, 21 CFR Part 11 compliance, full integration of UV and MS data, and easy-to-use wizards.

In February, Bruker introduced the new MALDI PharmaPulse 2.0 solution, which enhances the automation capabilities of the rapifleX MALDI-TOF MS. It can measure up to 10 different samples per second. New features include an Assay Development module and a Screening module.

SCIEX launched in January the X500B QTOF System, its latest in the X-Series QTOF MS platform. It is designed for standardized biotherapeutic characterization during drug development. It is specifically developed to deliver ease of use for high-resolution standardized workflows. It features SCIEX OS Software and BioPharmaView 2.0 processing software, including SWATH 2.0 data independent acquisition.

In March, Agilent Technologies introduced the Agilent 6545XT AdvanceBio LC/Q-TOF MS System, optimized to address analytical workflows commonly used in biopharma. It is optimized for use in profiling intact proteins, mapping peptides and identifying PTMs. The company also released the AdvanceBio Peptide Plus column for LC/MS peptide separations utilizing superficially porous particle technology.

Agilent Technologies unveiled in March the Agilent 6495B Triple Quadrupole LC/MS System. Compared to the 6495A, it provides improved mass range, scan speed and polarity switching. It also incorporates a new gate valve for quicker and easier removal of the inlet capillary.

In January, Veritomyx launched PeakInvestigator 2.0 Software Services, featuring fully automated peak detection with mass and abundance confidence intervals.

In March, JEOL launched a new FilterSpray module for its AccuTOF-DART MS system, making it possible to spot a sample on a disposable paper triangle for analysis by ambient ionization.

Extrel launched in March the MAX300-CAT lab gas analyzer, a quadrupole MS system designed for high-precision quantitative analysis of every component in a gas or vapor mixture. It can be equipped for fully automated sampling of up to 16 gas channels.

For its expression CMS (Compact Mass Spectrometer), Advion introduced in March a vAPCI (Volatile Atmospheric Chemical Ionization) source for gas phase sample analysis with no additional sample preparation required.

In March, Biognosys released the free QuiC QC monitoring tool, which generates LC/MS readouts from raw files of various proteomics workflows (SRM/MRM, PRM, DIA, DDA), allowing researchers to track data quality and instrument performance across multiple experiments.