News

FISHER BIOSCIENCES ADDS GENTEL® THIN-FILM NITROCELLULOSE SLIDES TO ITS PORTFOLIO; COMPANY WILL DEVELOP PRODUCTS USING GENTEL TECHNOLOGY

MADISON, Wis., Oct. 26, 2005 – Pierce Biotechnology, a unit of Fisher Biosciences, has contracted with GenTel BioSurfaces of Madison, Wis., to distribute GenTel’s PATH™ brand thin-film nitrocellulose slides and has licensed the use of GenTel technology in developing new protein arrays for life-science research and drug discovery.

GenTel slides are specifically designed for protein-array applications, including the profiling of disease biomarkers to improve the safety and efficacy of new drugs. GenTel applies an ultra-thin nitrocellulose film to a standard 3" x 1" glass slide. This film is 50 times thinner than conventional nitrocellulose slides and offers significant improvements over traditional glass slides. GenTel slides can be used on a wide range of instrumentation available from a variety of providers.

MADISON, WIS. – GenTel BioSurfaces, Inc. announces the launch of PATH™ HTS, a new platform for high-throughput quantitative immunoassays. PATH HTS was introduced last week at the microarray industry’s annual conference, Chips To Hits in Boston, MA.

“Our customers have been very pleased with the performance of PATH protein microarray slides. PATH HTS was designed to meet the pharmaceutical industry’s demand for an automated, high throughput platform to process more samples, faster,” said Robert Negm, Vice President of Business Development.

PATH HTS uses GenTel’s proprietary ultra-thin nitrocellulose technology, the basis of the successful PATH product line, introduced in 2004.

Madison, WI, USA and Amsterdam, The Netherlands – GenTel BioSurfaces, Inc., and KREATECH Biotechnology BV announce signing of an ULS™ Supply and Marketing License Agreement regarding the sales of ULS reagents for protein labeling and use on single capture antibody chips. GenTel will market and sell the ULS labeling reagents under their brand name PANDEIA™ in diverse kit formats. The kits are validated for use on GenTel’s PATH™ protein microarray technology platform and will be launched during the upcoming Chips to Hits conference in Boston on September 12, 2005.

For one- or two-color fluorescent profiling of the relative abundance of proteins using single capture antibody arrays, each protein sample is labeled with either ULS-biotin or ULS-fluorescein, and probed against the antibody microarray. The bound labeled proteins are detected using fluorescent Dy™ dyes from Dyomics GmbH using either a streptavidin-Dy™647 conjugate or an anti-fluorescein antibody-Dy™547 conjugate. The processed microarray is scanned on a standard two-color fluorescent scanner. KREATECH, holder of a license from Dyomics GmbH (Jena, Germany), has sub-licensed the rights to market and sell the Dyomics’ dye conjugates to GenTel.

MADISON - Gov. Jim Doyle today announced that GenTel BioSurfaces, Inc., Madison, Dane County, will receive $250,000 from the Department of Commerce (Commerce) Technology Venture Fund (TVF) program.

"Through my Grow Wisconsin initiative, we are supporting and assisting entrepreneurs develop new high-tech businesses to create more good paying jobs for our state," Gov. Doyle said. "Companies like GenTel BioSurfaces, Inc. help continue to move Wisconsin's economy to the high end. I am pleased that we could assist with the growth and development of this great Wisconsin company."

MADISON, WIS. – Officials at GenTel BioSurfaces, Inc. today announced the launch of the PATH™ Protein Microarray Slide and Kit. The new product will make its international debut at the annual Chips To Hits Biotechnology Conference in Boston, September 19-23.

“We have beta tested the PATH slide in research labs across the country with extraordinary success,” said Alex Vodenlich, GenTel’s president and CEO. “In research applications from biomarker discovery to protein profiling, the slide performed as promised, outpacing its competitors in nearly every benchmark.”

The new protein microarray slide features a proprietary, non-porous, ultra-thin nitrocellulose film that covers a large portion of the slide. “Ultra-thin nitrocellulose films provide all the benefits of conventional nitrocellulose-based microarray technologies, but lack the problematic background noise normally associated with them,” Vodenlich said. In addition, the PATH configuration means a single slide is compatible with almost any type of multiplexing device, including separators, gaskets, or high-throughput adaptors, he said. Multiplexing technology allows researchers to test numerous samples simultaneously, saving precious sample and decreasing research time.

MADISON, WIS. – GenTel BioSurfaces, Inc., a four-year-old biotechnology firm has obtained funding for its international marketing efforts through a Wisconsin Department of Commerce program, company officials said today. GenTel BioSurfaces manufactures and sells high quality biochips to the life sciences, pharmaceutical and diagnostics research industries.

According to Alex Vodenlich, GenTel CEO, the grant will allow GenTel BioSurfaces to highlight its recent product launch at the international biotechnology trade show Chips to Hits, to be held September 19-23 in Boston, MA.

Representatives of foreign-based firms comprise more than 30 percent of the Chips to Hits attendees, Vodenlich said. These representatives could open significant opportunities in foreign markets for GenTel’s portfolio of biochip products.

Allergen biochip development may offer new options for diagnostics

MADISON, Wis. – Five Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants totaling more than $900,000 have been awarded to GenTel BioSurfaces, Inc. in 2004 by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, company officials announced today.

GenTel BioSurfaces is a privately held University of Wisconsin spin-off company that specializes in the development, manufacture and distribution of biochips for life sciences, pharmaceutical and diagnostics research. A biochip is a collection of miniaturized test sites arrayed on a solid surface that permits many tests to be performed simultaneously.

MADISON, WIS. – The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) has selected GenTel BioSurfaces, Inc. to present at its second annual BIO Mid-America VentureForum in St. Louis, MO, May 4–5. This conference, a collaboration between ten Midwestern states and the Biotechnology Industry Organization, provides a venue for up-and-coming biotechnology and medical device companies to meet with venture capitalists. GenTel is one of 75 early stage companies to be chosen.

"GenTel is looking forward to communicating our vision and business strategy to members of the biotech venture community", Alex Vodenlich, President, remarked. "We have one product already on the market and another scheduled for release this summer. GenTel’s product focus and strong product development pipeline, position us well to quickly become a leading supplier of high-quality biochips for biomedical research."

MADISON, WIS. – GenTel BioSurfaces, Inc., a privately held UW–Madison biotechnology spin-off, announced today that it has appointed Thomas J. Burke, Ph.D., to its Scientific Advisory Board.

"Tom's extensive scientific experience, as well as his demonstrated expertise in grant writing, intellectual property management, and new product development make him ideally suited to advise and guide GenTel in its next stage of growth," said Bryce P. Nelson, Ph.D. and GenTel’s Chief Scientific Officer. "As a consultant to GenTel, Tom’s has been an instrumental player in our efforts to accelerate product development. We are fortunate to have him on our scientific advisory board."

MADISON, WIS. – GenTel BioSurfaces, Inc., a privately held UW–Madison biotechnology spin-off, announced today that it has appointed Alex D. Vodenlich to the position of President.

"Alex's breadth of marketing and sales experience, and his demonstrated leadership abilities, will enable GenTel to successfully expand the company's ability to commercialize its line of premium biochips. Alex has a deep understanding of the value and importance of developing new platforms for applications in drug discovery and life science research, whether at the genome or proteome level," said Bryce P. Nelson, Ph.D. and GenTel’s Chief Scientific Officer. "We look forward to strengthening our current collaborative partnerships and to developing new long-term partnerships in the academic and industrial markets under his leadership."