Corning Launches High-Throughput Label-Free Drug Screening System

Corning Launches High-Throughput Label-Free Drug Screening System

September 21, 2006

New Corning(R) Epic(TM) system addresses a broad range of biochemical and cell-based applications using optical biosensor technology

    CORNING, N.Y., Sept. 21 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Corning
Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) announced on Sept. 18 the
commercial launch of the Epic(TM) system, a high-throughput
label-free screening platform based on optical biosensor
technology. The system performs both biochemical and
cell-based drug discovery applications and offers drug
developers the ability to evaluate promising new drug
targets. It also allows for the observation of direct
biological interactions not previously detectable in
high-throughput applications. 

    The system uses optical technology to eliminate the
need for labels and consists of two basic components: a
disposable 384-well microplate with integrated biosensors
and a high-throughput screening (HTS) compatible microplate
reader that permits screening of up to 40,000 wells in an
eight-hour period. The Epic system can be easily integrated
with existing facilities and instrumentation because it
makes use of an industry standard microplate format. 

    "Conventional drug screening technologies rely
heavily on the use of fluorescent or radioactive
labels," said Mark Beck, vice president and general
manager, Corning Life Sciences. "These labels can
cause undesirable interactions such as false positives or
negatives, or prevent researchers from exploring promising
new drug targets because little information is known about
the target," continued Beck. "Prior to the
introduction of the Epic system, only very small-scale
label-free experiments could be performed, which did not
address the needs of today's discovery programs. Corning
solved the difficult problem of enabling label-free
screening in high throughput by integrating our expertise
in optics, materials science and the life sciences to bring
this technology to market." 

    The high sensitivity of the Epic system makes it
suitable for a broad range of drug discovery applications,
including both biochemical and cell-based assays. Corning
Life Sciences, in conjunction with multiple academic and
industry collaborators, has successfully evaluated numerous
small-molecule, large-molecule and cell-based interactions,
and several examples will be presented at the Society for
Biomolecular Sciences Conference in Seattle, Washington
from September 17-21. The Epic system will also be on
display in the Corning exhibit (booth #621). 

    "The complexity associated with drug interactions
requires a broad understanding of the associated biology,
and researchers need to be able to evaluate this from many
orthogonal vantage points," commented Jeff Mooney,
commercial technology director, Corning Life Sciences.
"The Epic system has the sensitivity to detect small
molecule binding interactions and to measure endogenous
level cellular response -- all in the same platform at high
throughput," Mooney continued. "This means that
with a single instrument a researcher could screen, for
example, the binding between a small molecule drug and a
kinase target, or alternatively perform a cell-based GPCR
screen using cells with endogenously expressed receptors.
There is no comparable system commercially available
today." 

    For additional information on the Epic system or any
other Corning Life Sciences products, please contact a
customer service representative at 1-800-492-1110, toll
free in the United States, ([phone]
internationally, or visit
http://www.corning.com/lifesciences . 

    About Corning Incorporated

    Corning Incorporated ( http://www.corning.com ) is a
diversified technology company that concentrates its
efforts on high-impact growth opportunities. Corning
combines its expertise in specialty glass, ceramic
materials, polymers and the manipulation of the properties
of light, with strong process and manufacturing
capabilities to develop, engineer and commercialize
significant innovative products for the telecommunications,
information display, environmental, semiconductor, and life
sciences industries. 

    Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

    This press release contains forward-looking statements
that involve a variety of business risks and other
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the
day that they are made, and Corning undertakes no obligation
to update them in light of new information or future events.


    For more information, please contact:
   
    Media Relations Contact:

     Corning China
     Lydia Lu
     Tel:   [phone] x1900
     Email: [e-mail]

     US Corning
     Dana Moss
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

    Investor Relations Contact:

     Kenneth C. Sofio
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  Corning Incorporated