Multiple assays can now be run using same cellular material – Company continues to enhance Tag-lite platform for a complete drug discovery solution

Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France – Cisbio Bioassays (www.htrf.com), a member of IBA group and global developer of HTRF® (Homogeneous Time-Resolved Fluorescence) technology and services used in assay development and drug screening, today announced that it has introduced six multi-mode cell lines to its expanding Tag-lite® cellular platform. These new, multi-mode cell lines enable researchers to investigate the biological complexity of cell membrane receptors using the same cellular material, making Tag-lite a complete drug discovery solution for GPCR studies. In related Tag-lite news, five new fluorescent ligands, including ones for GABA-B and Grehlin receptor binding assays, have been added to enhance the platform, bringing the current number of ligands to 18.

Tag-lite is a non-radioactive, cell-based technological platform for cell surface receptor study and screening. Membrane receptors, in particular GPCRs, are major therapeutic targets in pharmaceutical research as they are involved in every aspect of human physiology. Given their biological complexity, Cisbio Bioassays developed the Tag-lite platform to provide a multi-angle investigational tool that addresses their structure and function, from ligand binding and dimerization to second messengers and ERK phosphorylation. Tag-lite multi-mode cell lines now enable this analysis using the same cellular material, eliminating the need for researchers to develop and qualify their own cells for multiple assays.

“Researchers have wanted a comprehensive method to investigate receptors from a number of different angles, and with the addition of multi-mode cell lines, Tag-lite now offers a complete solution,” said François Degorce, director of marketing and communication at Cisbio Bioassays. “Unlike specialized cell lines, whose use is often validated for only one assay, Tag-lite cell lines are already optimized for all modes – binding, dimerization and functional assays. We are now looking to address receptors other than GPCRs with this innovative platform.”

Tag-lite cell lines released include, in particular, important GPCR targets such as CXCR4, as well as other chemokine receptors and cholecystokinin receptors. The cell lines have all been validated with HTRF reagents and kits for receptor ligand binding assays, receptor homodimerization assays, functional assays (Cellul’erk) and second messenger accumulation assays (cAMP and IP-One). The Tag-lite platform’s growing catalogue of ligands, plasmids, cell lines, binding kits and assays enable scientists to investigate and screen using one solution. In addition, Cisbio Bioassays offers custom labeling and full assay development services for dimerization and binding, led by its multi-disciplinary team of chemists, molecular and cellular biologists, and fluorescence technology and receptor specialists.

About Cisbio Bioassays and IBA group

Cisbio Bioassays is a global developer of products and technologies used for in vitro diagnostics and assay development for drug screening procedures. The company pioneered the field of homogenous fluorescence methodologies via its proprietary technology, HTRF®, a highly sensitive, robust technology for the detection of molecular interactions and widely used by the pharmaceutical industry for the high throughput screening stage of drug development. In addition, Cisbio Bioassays produces a selection of biological reagents and methods used by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as contract research organizations (CROs). Headquartered in Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France, with facilities in Bedford, MA, U.S.A. and a network of distributors worldwide, Cisbio Bioassays is a member of the Belgium-based IBA group. IBA develops and markets leading edge technologies, pharmaceuticals and tailor-made solutions for healthcare with a focus on cancer diagnosis and therapy. Leveraging on its scientific expertise, IBA is also active in the field of industrial sterilization and ionization. Listed on the pan-European stock exchange EURONEXT, IBA is included in the BelMid Index. (IBA: Reuters IBAB.BR and Bloomberg IBAB.BB).

Please visit www.htrf.com and www.iba-worldwide.com for more information about Cisbio Bioassays and IBA.

HTRF® and Tag-lite® are registered trademarks of Cisbio Bioassays.