What's New - August to October 1998

ATL Signs Agreement with Delta One

Accelerated Technology Laboratories (ATL) Inc. will now distribute Delta-One Data Loggers to compliment Sample Master® LIMS. With Delta-One Field Worker, laboratories can download field data from the data-logger directly to ATL's Sample Master LIMS. Delta-One provides data software solutions for remote data collection. The partnership will combine expertise in data management with remote on-site sample data collection, offering customers a complete integrated solutionthat integrates remote data with the LIMS. For details, contact ATL at 800-565-5467 or 650-594-9370.

Cohesive Technologies Signs Agreement with HP to Speed Drug Discovery

Cohesive Technologies has announced the signing of an agreement with Hewlett-Packard (HP) that covers sales, marketing, and service for HP's MSD 1100 mass spectrometer. HP's mass spectrometric detector and Cohesive's patented TurboFlow liquid chromatography detechnology will enalbe faster high-throughput approaches to find and produce promising drug candidates. For details, contact Coheive at 800-246-4550 or +1 508-528-7989.

PARNIB Belgium N.V. Subscribes to Compex N.V.'s Capital

PARNIB Belgium N.V., a supplier of venture capital, made a 100 million Belgian franc (2.75 Million US Dollars) investment in the Belgian software company Compex N.V. based in Ninove. Compex specializes in the development of standard production and quality control software products for, amongst others, the food, biotechnological and chemical industries. The extra funds that Compex has obtained thanks to PARNIB Belgium's contribution will be used to finance the international expansion of the company and the further development of Compex's own proCX and Unilab 4 products.
Compex was founded in 1985 by Guido and Wim Beazar. Currently the company has approximately 100 employees, consisting chiefly of engineers. In the course of its history, Compex has specialized in two niche markets in the field of industrial computer applications: LIMS and MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems). Over the years the standard software products which Compex has developed in this field have been accepted by large national and international industrial companies. At present, Compex products have been implemented in 15 countries throughout Europe and North America. References include such companies as Bayer Antwerpen, BF Goodrich, Boehringer Mannheim, Interbrew, Kraft Jacobs Suchard, Kraft Foods North-America, Nestle, Tessenderlo Chemie, Unilever and Vandemoortele. Compex has always known a constant and steady growth.
After the establishment of a Dutch branch in 1992, the American market was tapped last year. Only recently, in May 1998, a subsidiary was established in Germany. New funds were required for the further expansion which is how PARNIB Belgium N.V. became involved. For its 100 million Belgian franc (2.75 Million USD) contribution, PARNIB Belgium will obtain 14% of Compex's shares. "This capital increase will provide us with the extra breathing space for the further
internationalisation", says Guido Beazar. "We thought long about this transaction. Specialists of the Corporate Finance department of the Generale Bank assisted us in this. Of all the potential investors, PARNIB Belgium corresponded best with the desired profile with regard to familiarity with our sector, in its long-term vision and in its thinking along the same lines as our company".
Wim Beazar: "On the one hand the new funds will be used in the years to come for the further development of Compex's current offices and the establishment of new branches in the United Kingdom and France. Besides this we also want to work on the name recognition of our company and step up the marketing activities for our products. The products and the confidence of our large customers we already have, now the time has come to break through on an international scale". For additional information, contact Compex at Tel: +32 054/32 47 48, Fax: +32 054/32 46 60, or E-mail: lv@compex.be

CompuGen Announces Updated Web-Based Bioinformatics Program

Compugen Inc, a leading provider of bioinformatics solutions, has introduced GenWeb 4.5, the latest version of its web-based interface for the company's bioinformatics platform. GenWeb schedules DNA and protein database searches using BLAST, FASTA or any of Compugen's search algorithms such as Profile Search and Frame+. For additional information, contact Compugen at 800-949-7786 or surf their web site at http://www.cgen.com

LabAutomation '99 Call for Papers

LabAutomation '99, one of the premier laboratory automation conferences, has issued a call for appers for their 1999 conference to be held, as always, in San Diego, CA (for details see the Calendar). The theme of the 1999 event is "The Genomics Revolution from Drug Discovery to Patient Care". Abstracts are being accepted for podium and poster presentations. All abstracts must be submitted electronically, either on floppy disk or on their web page, at http://labautomation.org. Podium abstract submission deadline is September 15, 1998; poster abstract submission deadline is December 1, 1998.

Laboratory Robotics Interest Group Call for Speakers

The Laboratory Robotics Interest Group is seeking speakers for their next meeting which will be held in early December in central New Jersey and will focus on lab robotics topics in drug discovery. If you're interested contact the Laboratory Robotics Interest Group at (9140 732-4788 or by email at babiakj@war.wyeth.com

LabSystems Germany Goes Slovenian

Thermo LabSystems GmbH in Germany is expanding into new markets. The first step into central, eastern, and southeastern Europe comes with a new contract with Lek Pharmaceutical and Chemical Company d.d., one of the top 10 largest Slovene companies. Based in Ljubljana, Lek is the second largest pharmaceutical company in Slovenia. LabSystems was awarded a contract for software development for LIMS covering installations at the four Lek manufacturing locations in Slovenia. The order for a SampleManager LIMS implementation in QA/QC and R&D is concurrent with the installation of a new production control system. Both systems will interface closely to ensure seamless information and data integration. For details, contact LabSystems at 800-719-1853 or surf their web site at http://www.labsystems.com.

LabSystems Offers Instrument Integration with New Nautilus LIMS

With Nautilus, LabSystems includes instrument integration functionality as a standard, integral component of the LIMS. By integrating instruments to LIMS, and automating the transfer of analytical results, Nautilus eliminates transcription errors, saves time, enhances regulatory compliance by auditing the entire process, and brings productivity benefits to the lab. Nautilus can connect simple instrument such as balances directly via RS 232 serial cables, or parse data and result files from networked workstations such as Mass Spectrometry data systems.There is no limit to the number of instruments that can be connected. For details, contact LabSystems at 800-719-1853 or surf their web site at http://www.labsystems.com.

LabSystems Enables Easier Water Returns with New Water Management Module

The latest changes to mandatory returns procedures by the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) have already been incorporated into the new Water Management Module software, WMM v4.1, which is being launched by LabSystems in Ocrtober 1998. This new version software allows water companies to be up and running with their reporting in time for the next 1999 deadline. WMM v4.1 offers up-to-date pre-scheduling and reporting features, allowing water users to pre-schedule the mandatory drinking water sampling program more efficiently, predict a year's sampling in advance, and report their results. For more information, contact LabSystems at 800-719-1853 or surf their web site at http://www.labsystems.com.

LabSystems Releases Atlas Enterprise Edition

Following the recent launch of the ATLAS Chromatography Data System (CDS), LabSystems has released the Enterprise Edition of the new CDS. The Atlas Enterprise Edition is the first full release of the new CDS, which has been designed for multiple users and multiple instruments, for use in a fully networked, secure and regulated environment. Atlas has been developed and optimized for Windows 95 and Windows NT, and uses the Microsoft Office style guide for its user interface design. For additional information, contact LabSystems by calling 800-719-1853 or emailing the webmaster@labsystems.com.

LabVantage Solutions Signs Marketing Alliance with Advanced Chemistry Development (ACD)

LabVantage Solutions (LVS) and ACD have established a business partnership to provide integration between ACD/SpecManager and LVS LIMS solutions. ACD/SpecManager adds comprehensive UV-Visible, Infrared, Mass Spectroscopy, and NMR specrtra data to the LIMS, enabling processing, manipulation, association with chemical structures using the integrated structure drawing tool , databasing and searching according to structure, substructure, spectrum, subspectrum and user definable text fields. For details, contact LVS at (908) 707-4100.

LabVantage Solutions Offers New Corporate Brochure, Industry-Specific Product Briefs, and Multimedia CD-ROM

LabVantage Solutions (LVS) has recently created a new corporate brochure, industry-specific product briefs, and a multimedia CD-ROM. The brochure provides background information, as well as services and product stretegy. The product briefs cover the chemical, oil and gas, food and beverage, process, pharmaceutical, environmental, forensic, physical testing, and research and development industries. The CD-ROM is a montage of graphics, audio, and video that provide an overview of LVS, including history, mission, products and services. For details, contact LVS at (908) 707-4100.

Perkin-Elmer Announces New Digital Instrument Controls

New digital instrument control features have been added to PE Nelson's 32-bit Chromatography Data Systems (CDS). Control of Perkin-Elmer's HS40 Automatic Headspace Sampler, Series 200 Diode Array Detector, and Hewlett Packard's 6890 Plus GC and associated liquid autosampler are now available in the second major release of Turbochrom Client/Server and Turbochrom Workstation CDS. Both multi-instrument CDS' take full advantage of Microsoft's 32-bit Windows operating system, and provide advanced data handling for commercial gas chromatography and liquid chromatography instruments. For details, contact PE Nelson at (888) PE-CHROM or (203) 762-4000.

Perkin-Elmer to Provide LIMS to Nuclear Power Plant

Perkin-Elmer's Analytical Division and Vattenfall AB Ringhals of Sweden have signed an agreement whereby PE Nelson will configure, implement, and support a LIMS for the analytical laboratories of Vattenfall's Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant in the southern part of Sweden. PE has implemented SQL*LIMS in several other nuclear power plant laboratories in France, Switzerland, and the U.S., and understands the specific safety and operational requirements of a nuclear power plant lab. Vattenfall's requirements for the implementaiton include interfaces to other software systems such as Documentum's Electronic Document Management System, the Process Information Management System InfoPluus21 of AspenTech, and ultimately SAP R/3. Project work started in September 1998 and is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 1999. For details, contact PE Nelson at (888) PE-CHROM or (203) 762-4000.

Perkin-Elmer Offers High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) CD-ROM User Guide

A new Liquid Chromatography (LC) ChromAssist CD-ROM training guide and multi-media manual is now available from Perkin-Elmer. The CD training manual aids users with the operation, maintenance, and applications of Perkin-Elmer's HPLC instrumentation systems. The manual contains information on solvent reservoirs, LC pumps, detector data system, autosampler injector, and columns. For details, contact PE Nelson at (888) PE-CHROM or (203) 762-4000.

Special Interest Group Develops Guideline for Computer System Validation

The Joint Association for Clinical Data Management (ACDM)/Statisticians in the Pharmaceutical Industry (PSI) Guideline on Computer Systems Validation in Clinical Research has been issued, effective August 1998. Why is this Guideline important? According to its producers, this is the first comprehensive pharmaceutical industry guideline addressing the issues of computer system validation written within the context of GCP. The publication of this Guideline marks the culmination of an industry-wide long term project which has pulled together current thinking and sought extensive review from experts in the field. The Guideline is written from the end-user perspective and takes a broad view of computer system validation. The entire development life cycle, through system maintenance to decommissioning is addressed, and throughout the guideline the importance of people, procedures and adequate documentation is stressed. The approach taken is one of quality management whereby the validation process builds in quality at every level. Following publication of the paper version, the Guideline will be posted on the Web. Information on access to the Guideline will be through the ACDM web site (http://www.acdm.org.uk). The price for the paper version is £10 (£5 ACDM and PSI members). For further information and to order the paper version contact: ACDM Administrator, PO Box 129, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 8FG UNITED KINGDOM. Tel: +44 (0) 1625 511818. Fax: +44 (0) 1625 511750