DHARMACON and AMAXA COLLABORATE TO IMPROVE SiRNA DELIVERY INTO CELLS; Nucleofector Technology Enables siRNA Transfer into Primary Cells and Non-Standard Cell Lines - siRNA

DHARMACON and AMAXA COLLABORATE TO IMPROVE SiRNA DELIVERY INTO CELLS; Nucleofector Technology Enables siRNA Transfer into Primary Cells and Non-Standard Cell Lines
June 6, 2006
Dharmacon
LAFAYETTE, Colo. & COLOGNE, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 6, 2006 - Dharmacon, Inc., a business unit of the Fisher Biosciences group and the world's leading supplier of innovative RNA and RNA interference (RNAi) research products, and amaxa, a global leader in the development and commercialization of non-viral gene transfer products, today announced an agreement to co-promote data generated using Dharmacon's siRNA libraries with amaxa's Nucleofector(R) technology.
Despite the rapid advance of RNAi gene silencing for drug discovery and development, some research has been hampered by the insufficient delivery of siRNA into primary cells and non-standard cell lines. Nucleofection gives researchers the ability to efficiently transfer nucleic acids (siRNA) into those cells and use them for gene silencing experiments. amaxa's new Nucleofector(R) 96-well Shuttle(TM) system allows parallel processing of a large number of transfection experiments and works well with Dharmacon's libraries as well as smaller siRNA samples.

"The combined technologies of Dharmacon and amaxa enable us to broaden the application of siRNA so that it can be introduced into difficult cell lines, and with the 96-well Shuttle system researchers can also accomplish this in high throughput," said William S. Marshall, Ph.D., vice president of technology and business development for Fisher Biosciences. "We will work closely with amaxa to provide our customers with coordinated technical service, pre-tested protocols and application models to optimize the use of our siRNA reagents with the amaxa technology."
Rainer Christine, CEO of amaxa, said: "We believe Dharmacon provides excellent-quality siRNA, and that made the company an obvious choice for partnering. At amaxa, we provide our customers with solutions for whichever cell types they consider the best model system for their experiments. By working closely with Dharmacon, we can help researchers accelerate the speed and accuracy of their experiments using siRNA."
The co-promotion agreement between amaxa and Dharmacon is effective as of today.
About amaxa
As a globally active specialist in nucleic acid delivery, amaxa's mission is to significantly enhance the speed and quality of pharmaceutical development and basic research in gene transfer, gene silencing, and gene-based medicine. To this end, amaxa develops and commercializes non-viral gene transfer products and leverages them for industrial and clinical applications. The Nucleofector(R) technology provides the first efficient non-viral method for transfer of DNA or siRNA not only into the cytoplasm, but also directly into the nucleus of cell lines and primary cells. Based on electroporation, the technology combines novel and unique electrical parameters and cell type-specific solutions. Founded in 1998, amaxa is located in Cologne, Germany, and in Gaithersburg, Md., USA, and currently employs 145 people. The company's research team is one of the largest R&D groups worldwide working on non-viral gene transfer. For more information please visit www.amaxa.com.
About Dharmacon
Dharmacon is a business unit within the Fisher Biosciences group and the world's leading provider of reliable, high-quality RNA oligonucleotides, small interfering RNA (siRNA) and related RNA-interference (RNAi) products and technologies. Using its core expertise in chemistry, biology, bioinformatics and production, Dharmacon has developed industry-leading siRNA design, chemical modification, and delivery technologies for maximizing the efficiency of gene silencing. Dharmacon's proprietary SMARTselection(TM) and SMARTpool(R) technologies result in potent and specific gene-silencing agents that can accelerate life-science research and drug discovery. Dharmacon's siGENOME(TM), a comprehensive and flexible siRNA collection, offers guaranteed silencing reagents for all unique human, mouse and rat genes. The company's advanced siRNA modification technologies further enhance silencing specificity, stability, and in vivo performance. For more information about Dharmacon products and services visit www.dharmacon.com or call 303-604-9499.
About Fisher Biosciences
Fisher Biosciences, a unit of Fisher Scientific International Inc. (NYSE: FSH), manufactures and supplies a wide range of products and services across the general-chemistry and life-sciences arenas. From fine and high-purity chemicals, clinical diagnostics, proprietary protein-research and cell-culture products, and sterile-liquid-handling systems, to innovative RNA-interference technology and high content screening, Fisher Biosciences serves scientific-research, healthcare, drug-discovery, and general industrial customers around the world. For more information please visit www.fisherbiosci.com.
Contact Dharmacon Susan Strong, 303-604-9499 or Media: GendeLLindheim BioCom Partners Stephen Gendel, 212-918-4650 or amaxa: Dr. Oliver Mueller, +49 (0)221 991 991 92