Briefs: Quotient buys mass spectrometers; Amgen, Cambridge Uni launch Scholars program
Quotient Bioresearch, a provider of early phase drug development and sports testing services, said it is buying three Thermo Scientific LTQ Orbitrap XL mass spectrometers.
The Thermo Scientific instrumentation will enable Quotient to offer customers enhanced benefits in mass spectrometry. FDA guidance is increasingly driving the need to identify and quantify key metabolites at the early stage of drug development. Quotient is investing in improved metabolite profiling technology, better coordination of human AME studies, through its radio synthesis group, and an enhanced metabolite identification capability.
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The Amgen Foundation and the University of Cambridge, along with two other leading European universities, launched Amgen Scholars Europe, a $2.5m, two-year program that will provide more than 100 selected undergraduate students from throughout Europe the opportunity to engage in a hands-on summer research experience under top academic scientists at three world class universities.
"With the launch of the Program, undergraduates from many nations will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the real world of research and experience firsthand what it takes to contribute to the advancement of knowledge," Amgen Foundation President Jean Lim said. "Under the guidance of distinguished faculty mentors, we hope the Scholars will be inspired to discover their potential as future scientists."
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Stem Cell Sciences plc, a company focused on the commercialisation of stem cells and stem cell technologies, said it has entered into an agreement with CHDI Foundation, Inc, to support the standardisation of CHDI's novel mouse embryonic stem cell lines.
CHDI is a US non-profit organisation pursuing treatments for Huntington's disease (HD). The cell lines have been produced over a period of several years under varying conditions, and conversion to a standard methodology is expected to facilitate their use in HD-related research towards the development of new HD drugs and diagnostics.
