Laboratory News & BioScience October 2016

Issue 115 | October 2016 

THE MAGAZINE FOR LABORATORY PROFESSIONALS 

NOW INCORPORATING 

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In association with The NZ Microbiological Society Inc. VOL. 22 No. 1 JUNE 2012 ISSN 1172-7101 

New research targets 

drug-resistant breast cancer 

Breast Cancer Cure is proud to 

announce the funding of two new 

research projects as part of 

The Breast Cancer Research in New 

Zealand 2016 initiative, a joint 

partnership between Breast Cancer 

Cure, the Health Research Council 

of New Zealand (HRC) and The New 

Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation. 

The first project led by Dr Francis Hunter 

from the University of Auckland , will 

see New Zealand researchers use cutting-edge 

genetic technology to help control 

resistance to the latest drug for treating HER2- 

positive breast cancer that has spread to other 

parts of the body (metastatic breast cancer). 

Each year more than 3000 New Zealanders 

are diagnosed with breast cancer and 600 

will die from the condition. One-quarter of 

these breast cancers are driven by increased 

amounts of a gene called HER2, which can be 

targeted with the drug trastuzumab, more 

commonly known as Herceptin. 

“Herceptin markedly improves outcomes 

for HER2-positive breast cancer. Unfortunately, 

treatment resistance develops in many 

patients, leading to a very aggressive disease 

with poor prognosis,” says Dr Hunter. 

In 2013 a new drug called trastuzumab 

emtansine (T-DM1) was approved for treating 

HER2-positive, metastatic1 breast cancer 

that has stopped responding to Herceptin. 

However, T-DM1 shrinks tumours in only half 

of patients and the reasons why the other patients 

are resistant to it remains unclear. 

“We’re going to use a powerful genetic 

tool to identify genes that control – and thus 

predict – the sensitivity and resistance to 

T-DM1 in HER2-positive breast cancer. Our 

aim is to reduce the distressing uncertainty 

associated with treating this illness and to enable 

patients and their caregivers to make informed 

treatment decisions,” says Dr Hunter. 

Phillipa Green, general manager for Breast 

Cancer Cure comments: “We are proud to be 

able to announce the funding of another vital 

research project, to help us move closer to 

achieving our goal of finding a cure for breast 

cancer. The work that Dr Hunter is doing is 

ground breaking, and will drastically change 

the lives and treatment journey of many people 

in New Zealand who suffer from Breast 

Cancer.” 

“This new project takes us to a total of 

nine projects funded via the breast cancer 

partnership with the Health Research Council 

of New Zealand since 2013.” 

HRC chief executive Professor Kath 

McPherson says recurrent HER2-positive 

breast cancer is a major challenge in New 

Zealand, particularly as this type of breast 

cancer grows rapidly and is associated with a 

high risk of metastasis and relapse, with devastating 

impacts for the women concerned 

and their family/whānau. 

“Developing a diagnostic tool that can 

predict how patients will likely respond to 

the drug T-DM1 – and advancing our understanding 

of why some people are resistant to 

it – would help improve the chances of survival 

for people with this aggressive type of 

breast cancer and allow more targeted and 

efficient use of expensive cancer medicines,” 

says Professor McPherson. 

Cancer researcher Dr Tracy Hale from 

Massey University has also received funding 

Continued on page 4 

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[ 2 ]


Top award for environmental scientist 

The University of Waikato’s Professor Bruce Clarkson 

has been awarded the Charles Fleming Award for 

Environmental Achievement by the Royal Society of 

New Zealand. 

It’s been a good month for the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research 

who learned last week that he had also received more than $2.8 

million Endeavour funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation 

and Enterprise to lead a project People, Cities and Nature: 

Restoring indigenous nature in urban environments. 

The Charles Fleming Award honours those who have achieved 

distinction in the protection, maintenance, management, improvement 

or understanding of the environment, in particular the 

sustainable management of the New Zealand environment. The 

award is made every three years to an individual and consists of a 

medal and a cash grant of $2000. 

Early in his career, Professor Clarkson studied New Zealand’s 

volcanoes and became something of an expert in volcanic succession, 

monitoring how lands recover after all flora and fauna 

have been wiped out. He earned international recognition for 

his research and was invited by institutions all over the world to 

talk about patterns and processes in vegetation, “and then later in 

my career I became more and more interested in urban sites and 

green spaces and bringing nature back to the city”. And that too 

has earned him international accolades. 

In New Zealand Professor Clarkson has had to deal with some 

high-profile environmental issues, regularly presenting evidence 

to the Environment Court, and in Hamilton he led what was sometimes 

a difficult battle with some city councillors to expand the 

restoration of the 60-hectare Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park 

in the city - New Zealand’s largest inland restoration project. 

Over the years Bruce has secured government funding for eight 

programmes, including New Zealand’s first-ever programme that 

focused on restoration of indigenous ecosystems in urban environments. 

He set up the University of Waikato’s Environmental Research 

Institute in 2010 and up until recently he was interim director 

the Biological Heritage National Science Challenge. 

Professor Clarkson co-founded the Waikato and Rotorua botanical 

societies, and has served on numerous committees and trust 

boards. “What I enjoy is increasing the public’s appreciation and 

understanding of the value of indigenous natural heritage, and I 

enjoy doing research where you can see positive results, when you 

know what you’ve done, or helped to do, will have long-lasting 

good effects.” 

The Charles Fleming Award requires Professor Clarkson to 

complete an all-expenses paid public lecture tour, to visit selected 

Royal Society branches, and he’s looking forward to the tour. 

“Partly because I’ll be visiting some of the cities involved in the 

Endeavour-funded project.” 

For People, Cities and Nature, Professor Clarkson has brought 

together a cross-disciplinary team of young researchers from institutions 

around the country to be part of the four-year project 

that will look at the best methods to bring nature, that’s plants, 

native birds and animals, back into urban areas. The researchers “a 

vigorous, highly productive group of urban ecologists” come from 

Waikato, Victoria and Otago universities and Landcare Research. 

“They’re all specialists in different areas who’ll be investigating 

ways to improve or manipulate habitats to increase populations of 

native plants, birds and other animals.” 

The cities on board are Hamilton, New Plymouth, Tauranga, 

Napier, Wellington, Nelson and Dunedin, plus the Waikato and 

Hawke’s Bay regional councils and Zealandia in Karori, Wellington. 

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[ 3 ]



Five presentations provide new insights into noninvasive 

vagus nerve stimulation’s mode of action 

Basking Ridge, New Jersey: Five 

studies, covering both clinical 

and preclinical results, providing 

insight into the mode of action 

of non-invasive vagus nerve 

stimulation (nVNS) were presented 

recently at the American Headache 

Society’s AGM. 

There is growing scientific consensus 

that the effect of vagus nerve stimulation 

on primary headache can be 

demonstrated via a number of underlying 

mechanisms of action (MOA). 

The first clinical study, from researchers 

at the Headache Research Unit of the University 

of Liège in Belgium, found that nVNS, 

using electroCore’s gammaCore device, is 

effective in stimulating the afferent vagal 

fibers (the nerve cells which carry the signals 

to the brain). The study concluded that, 

“The therapeutic effects reported with gammaCore® 

in primary headaches can thus be 

mediated by genuine activation of vagus 

nerve afferents.” 

The same academic group from the University 

of Liège also presented the results of 

their clinical study into the effects of nVNS 

on habituation deficit, a phenomenon that 

is frequently observed in migraine patients, 

that is associated with a hyperexcitability 

state in the brain. 

By observing changes in response to visual 

evoked potentials (VEP - visual evoked 

potential is a test of the speed of nerve messages 

between the eye and the brain), and 

correlating the results with the clinical benefits 

observed among migraine patients, 

the group demonstrated that using the 

nVNS gammaCore device is associated with 

modulation of corticothalmic circuits in the 

brain, bringing their function back into the 

normal range. The next stage in this ongoing 

research is to determine if nVNS has a 

long-term effect, and if this normalisation is 

truly predictive of therapeutic response. 

Another study from researchers at The 

City College of New York and the UCSD 

Center for Pain Medicine in San Diego was 

conducted in a computational model. The 

study showed that nVNS can produce electric 

fields and/or electric field gradients at 

sufficient amplitudes and depths within the 

neck to stimulate afferent fibers in the vagus 

nerve. 

The researchers concluded that: “The 

many clinical benefits of VNS with a surgically 

implanted stimulator can now be 

achieved non-invasively without the cost 

(around $30,000) and morbidity associated 

with an implanted stimulator". 

The final two presentations were of 

pre-clinical studies investigating the MOA 

of VNS in animal models of pain. The first 

study, from the NYU College of Medicine 

and Dentistry, investigated the effects of 

VNS on acute intracranial head pain. Their 

findings suggest the mechanism for the 

previously reported efficacy of nVNS in the 

abortive treatment of cluster headache 

by proving that stimulation of the cervical 

branch of the vagus nerve inhibits the 

activation of pain receptors in the main facial 

nerve. The researchers also suggested 

that their study could “validate this model 

of acute intracranial pain as a translational 

approach to optimize therapeutic efficacy,” 

meaning that their findings can be applied 

to clinical studies into nVNS and primary 

headache conditions. 

The second study, from Missouri State 

University, found that nVNS can stop the activation 

of sensory neurons implicated in the 

underlying pathology of migraine and temporomandibular 

joint disorders (TMJ). This 

study further confirms the results previously 

reported by Michael Oshinsky (Pain, 2014), 

which demonstrated the ability of nVNS to 

suppress excessive glutamate (an excitatory 

neurotransmitter associated with neuronal 

hyperexcitability, which is implicated in 

migraine and other pain conditions). Consequently, 

the researchers concluded: “VNS 

may be useful as a nonpharmacological 

therapy for treating episodic migraine and 

inhibiting pain associated with TMJ Syndrome 

(pain in the jaw bone)”. 

www.electrocore.com 

About electroCore 

electroCore LLC, the New Jersey based bioelectric 

pharma company, is focused on developing 

non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation 

therapies (the gammaCore device) for 

the treatment of multiple conditions in neurology, 

psychiatry, gastroenterology, and respiratory 

fields. The company’s initial target 

is the treatment of primary headaches (migraine 

and cluster headache), and the associated 

chronic co-morbidities of gastric motility, 

psychiatric, sleep, and pain disorders 

that drive disproportionately large direct 

and indirect costs within the healthcare system 

and society. In Germany gammaCore is 

distributed by Desitin. 

New research targets drug-resistant breast cancer 

From page 1 

as part of the Breast Cancer Research in New 

Zealand 2016 initiative. 

Dr Hale is exploring how the changes 

that occur in a cell’s nucleus when a cell 

invades surrounding tissue could reveal 

potential new drugs targets for metastatic 

breast cancer. 

“The first step in metastatic disease occurs 

when a cell invades surrounding tissue. However, 

before a cell can invade, its nucleus must 

become malleable enough to ensure the cell 

can squeeze through the tissue matrix. This 

critical stage provides a unique opportunity to 

prevent metastasis by targeting the key pathways 

involved,” says Dr Hale. 

The research team will study if a protein 

[ 4 ] 

commonly lost in invasive breast tumours, 

called HP1a, is responsible for these changes 

to the cell’s nucleus. Understanding how this 

process works will help identify possible drug 

targets that could represent the next generation 

of anti-cancer therapies. 

The Breast Cancer Research in New Zealand 

2016 initiative was established by the 

three funding partners to support innovative 

research that seeks to improve and ultimately 

ensure survival from breast cancer, with a 

focus on targeted treatments, early detection, 

prognostic and predictive diagnoses, or 

preventative therapies. 

BCC has funded over $10M of research 

in New Zealand over 15 years ranging from 

studies into the use of antibodies as a targeted 

treatment for controlling growth of breast 

cancer cells, to early detection of breast cancer, 

to research in the field of immunotherapy 

and the harnessing of our own immune systems 

to combat breast cancer. 

1 The spread of secondary tumours to other tissues 

For further information on the BCC or the project, 

please contact Phillipa Green at BCC at phillipa@breastcancercure.org.nz 

or 021946 013 

For further information on the HRC please contact 

Professor Kath McPherson, HRC Chief Executive 

email: kmcpherson@hrc.govt.nz or telephone: 

(09) 303 5204 

BCC is a not-for-profit charitable trust established 

solely to support research into finding a "cure" 

for breast cancer by making the disease one that 

women can endure and survive by funding novel research 

into: prevention, earlier detection, predictive 

and prognostic diagnosis, appropriate and tailored 

treatment.


Guild congratulates Kiwi winners 

of Australia’s National Student 

Business Plan Competition 

The Pharmacy Guild of New 

Zealand congratulated the team 

from the University of Auckland 

which won the Pharmacy Guild 

of Australia’s National Student 

Business Plan Competition. 

The winning team of Akhila Puthigae, 

Surbhi Patel, Philip Cabasag 

and Sean Turner won with their fictitious 

NaturEd Pharmacy. NaturEd Pharmacy 

is based in Rotorua, and features a 

multilingual EduCare programme which 

revolutionises health literacy and patient 

education. 

The team were declared the competition 

winners at the recent 2016 Pharmacy 

Connect conference in Sydney. The 

two runners-up were Eye Scream for Eye 

Screens from the University of Technology 

Sydney, and One Life Pharmacy from the 

University of Sydney. 

The three finalists, from a total of 16 entries, 

successfully progressed through the 

business plan, quarter-final and semi-final 

rounds. 

They had to complete financial quizzes, 

write short answer essays about business 

finance and operations, and pitch their 

business ideas to the judges before being 

selected to pitch to the Pharmacy Connect 

conference delegates. 

Following the live pitches, each team 

met with the judging panel to answer 

some post-pitch questions about their 

business. 

The National Student Business Plan 

Competition is an initiative of the Pharmacy 

Guild of Australia designed to promote 

creative entrepreneurship among pharmacy 

students and encourage the development 

of viable, innovative, pharmacistowned 

community pharmacies. 

The competition is open to all pharmacy 

schools across Australia and New 

Zealand and provides $15,000 in cash 

prizes to the finalists, a portion of which 

goes directly to the participating schools 

of pharmacy who produce the top three 

teams each year. 

AsureQuality and 

Bureau Veritas 

Purchase of Dairy 

Technical Services 

Complete 

The acquisition of DTS by New Zealand 

state-owned-enterprise AsureQuality 

and Bureau Veritas, a world leader in 

laboratory testing, inspection and certification 

services, is now complete. The new 

company being formed will include Dairy 

Technical Services (DTS) an Australian market 

leader in the provision of food testing 

services, and part of AsureQuality’s Australian 

business. 

AsureQuality Chief Executive Officer 

John McKay says, “This acquisition is an important 

strategic move for AsureQuality in 

creating efficiencies, building our capability 

and better servicing the needs of our customers. 

“It marks an exciting new chapter for 

AsureQuality and we look forward to using 

the combined expertise of both AsureQuality 

and Bureau Veritas to further grow the 

technical excellence and customer focus 

that has driven DTS’ success to date.” 


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[ 5 ]



Strong industry focus to Applied Science 

Qualifications at Ara 

Ara Institute of Canterbury has 

long offered a Graduate Diploma 

in Laboratory Technology, 

which successfully provides BSc 

graduates with the skills necessary 

for a science laboratory career. 

With the rapid growth of advanced, 

value-added manufacturing, Ara 

has now added two new national 

qualifications developed following industry 

feedback – the New Zealand Diploma 

in Applied Science Level 5 and the New 

Zealand Diploma in Applied Science Level 6. 

The level 5 diploma provides graduates 

with the high level of skills needed 

for modern automated manufacturing 

systems, alongside necessary soft skills 

and the Level 6 Diploma is aimed at meeting 

employer needs for well-trained and 

skilled laboratory staff. 

Dr David Hawke, Programme Leader in 

the Department of Science and Primary 

Industries at Ara, said all three qualifications 

focus on developing practical and 

industry relevant skills, including soft 

skills with technical skills and are delivered 

in modern training environments. 

The development of soft skills is designed 

to encourage team work, communication 

skills and ethical workplace 

behaviour making it easier for students to 

make the move to full time employment. 

“The multifaceted approach works. If 

you walk into any lab around Christchurch 

about two-thirds of the technicians have 

studied with us – this is a huge number 

given that we train only five percent of 

science graduates in Canterbury.” 

“Our relationships with employers are 

extremely important to us and we are 

committed to making sure our graduates 

are able to work safely and competently in 

a lab environment or manufacturing environment,” 

Dr Hawke said. 

Students also learn about legislative 

compliance and quality systems, topics 

often not taught within academic institutions. 

Consequently, employees can be 

confident that graduates are work ready 

from day one. 

“Our work placements give students 

the opportunity to apply their skills in industry 

which means employers are confident 

that graduates are ready when they 

complete their studies. Many of these 

placements lead to full time employment 

before they have even graduated.” 

ARANZ Medical wins global technology award 

Christchurch-based ARANZ Medical recently 

won an international award in 

Brasilia at the World Congress of Information 

Technology (WCIT). 

The conference is run by the World Information 

Technology and Services Alliance 

(WITSA) which is the global organisation 

over-arching all world technology organisations. 

NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller 

says the ARANZ Medical success is equivalent 

to an Oscar of global technology. 

“We nominated ARANZ Medical and other 

NZTech members after they won New Zealand 

Hi-Tech Awards in May. 

“With this success they have effectively 

been recognized as world champions of cool 

technology and took out one of the most 

competitive awards. ARANZ Medical was 

[ 6 ] 

also recently named a supreme winner at the 

Champion Canterbury Awards.” 

ARANZ Medical specialises in 3D scanning 

and informatics solutions for the healthcare 

sector that transform clinical assessment 

processes, improve quality of care, and make 

service delivery more cost-effective. ARANZ 

Medical carries out all research, development 

and manufacturing in Christchurch with 98 

percent of products exported to 35 countries. 

Muller says ARANZ Medical is at the forefront 

of emerging health trends globally. The 

increased prevalence of diseases like diabetes, 

an ageing population, more accountable 

healthcare and the telehealth trend is driving 

demand for our solutions and our rapid 

growth. 

The Christchurch medical company is also 

a finalist in four categories in the 2016 New 

Designing Health Conference – October 24 - October 25 2016 

It’s time to think about tackling the health 

care system problems in a new way. You are 

invited to the inaugural Designing Health 

Conference on 24 and 25 October 2016, at the 

Stamford Grand, Adelaide. 

What’s this conference all about? 

The conference will bring together health 

care professionals, operations researchers and 

designers – all people who are interested in 

improving our health system. The focus will 

be on connecting and learning about how 

we can contribute to improving the health 

care system through design thinking, systems 

thinking and operations research. 

Who’s speaking? 

Professors Terry Young (Cumberland Initiative, 

UK) and Prof Harrold Nelson (USA) will 

provide the international perspective, while 

those already applying these methods from 

Australia will also feature at the event, including 

Professor Don Campbell (Monash Health) 

and Dr Meike van der Bijl-Brouwer (Designing 

Out Crime Centre). 

Who should attend? 

Anyone looking to help solve health care sys- 

NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller 

Zealand Innovators Awards. The winners will 

be named in Auckland on October 20. 

tem problems – doctors, nurses, allied health 

professionals, designers. If you’re interested 

in learning more about how design thinking, 

system thinking and operations research can 

be used to benefit the way we deliver health 

care, then this is for you. 

Registration: 

Go to http://pay.flinders.edu.au/HealthCare- 

Management/menu or contact mark.mackay@flinders.edu.au 

There’s a Facebook page https://web.facebook.com/designinghealthconference?_rdr 

that has additional information.



[ 7 ]



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6/10/2016 12:32:27 p.m.


Bluebee expands into 

the US with Boston 

corporate office 


Bluebee, a pioneer in cloud-based high performance 

genomics solutions, recently announced that it 

is expanding with a new corporate office in the 

Boston, MA. 

The office is strategically located in the heart of Boston, in an 

11 storey building at the 745 Atlantic Ave, Boston MA, the 

space is perfectly positioned in Boston’s Leather District 

just minutes away from the South Station Terminal. 

Over the year, Bluebee has established close relationships 

with major research and clinical labs in the United States, and 

expanding its operations is a strategic move for the company to 

bring local support and representation to the region. 

“The United States has always been a key market for us,” said 

Hans Cobben, CEO of Bluebee, “This is just the first of a number of 

investments we will be making in 2016 to expand the resources 

needed to support and continue to grow our business here. We 

are delighted to demonstrate our increased commitment to our 

US customers by adding local resources to better service their 

needs for a global and scalable genomic data analysis platform. 

Our business in the United States is growing rapidly and we are 

committed to continue our investments in such an important 

market.” 

Bluebee operates in globally distributed high-performance 

computing centers. Processing and storage of the genomics data 

are contractually guaranteed in the region of choice to comply 

with local regulatory requirements and data privacy regulations. 

With this unique feature global players have one single interface 

for managing projects and data processing across the globe 

without the burden of managing multiple datacenters separately, 

nor losing the ability to collaborate and share data. For 

the region Bluebee operates on five datacenters in the US (Dallas, 

Houston, San José, Seattle and Washington DC), 2 in Canada 

(Montreal and Toronto), one in Mexico and one in Brazil. 

About Bluebee 

Bluebee (www.bluebee.com) provides high performance genomics 

solutions, enabling genomic labs to substantially reduce cost 

and time-to-diagnosis. Bluebee’s unique cloud-based accelerated 

genomics platform enables fast, efficient and affordable processing 

of large volumes of genomics data. With Bluebee’s privatecloud 

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service for research and clinical labs. 

[ 9 ] 

M1792 MEP OMNIS Laboratory News NZ 20160615 85x277.indd 1 6/15/16 11:48



New mechanisms uncovered explaining 

frost tolerance in plants 

Defying frost and the cold with 

hormones 

Plants cannot simply relocate to better surroundings 

when their environmental conditions 

are no longer suitable. Instead, they 

have developed sophisticated molecular 

adaptation mechanisms. 

Scientists at the Technical University Munich 

(TUM) in cooperation with the Helmholtz 

Center Munich and the University of 

Nottingham have been able to demonstrate 

that brassinosteroids, which until now have 

mainly been regarded as growth hormones, 

increase the resistance of plants against 

frost. 

"Stress caused by cold is an environmental 

influence which has a direct effect on 

the growth and yield of plants", says plant 

molecular biologist Professor Brigitte Poppenberger. 

With her research group at the Biotechnology 

of Horticultural Crops Institute at 

the TUM, she investigates the mechanisms 

used by plants to adapt to external influences. 

Her research activities have centred 

on brassinosteroids for quite some time. In 

earlier work, her group already used common 

thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) as 

a model plant to demonstrate exactly how 

this plant hormone, which was identified for 

the first time in rapeseed in 1979, promotes 

plant growth. In fact, it had been known for 

a long time that this hormone plays a role in 

[ 10 ] 

plant development. 

However, the exact mechanism of action 

was unknown. It was the work of the 

biotechnology experts at the TUM School 

for Life Sciences in Weihenstephan that first 

made it possible to gain a precise understanding 

of this phenomenon. 

It's no coincidence that Brigitte Poppenberger's 

team once again picked Arabidopsis 

for the current study. Due to its relatively 

undemanding nature, simple structure, 

and its compact size, it isn't simply a favourite 

among geneticists in general—the 

tiny herb also provides optimal conditions 

under which to search for cold protection 

mechanisms in plants, as it's able to survive 

low temperatures and increase its tolerance 

to frost by adapting to the cold. In the current 

issue of the specialist journal "Proceedings 

of the National Academy of Sciences" 

(PNAS), the scientists describe the hitherto 

unknown side of brassinosteroids, which up 

until now have been known as growth hormones. 

In order to gain a detailed understanding 

of their mechanisms, the researchers carried 

out experiments in which they exposed 

Arabidopsis plants to slowly decreasing 

temperatures. Experiments with wild-type 

varieties in the laboratory showed that as 

the temperature decreases, the plant reacts 

by beginning to modify the expression of 

genes for which DNA is transcribed to RNA 

within its cells. "This reduces its growth, 

which increases its chances of survival," Pop- 

penberger explains, describing the natural 

protective mechanism of the normal plants. 

A molecular path to 'winter fat' 

The researchers obtained a different result 

with their experiments involving genetically 

modified model plants, which are no longer 

able to synthesize brassinosteroids themselves 

or recognize them as a signal. While 

wild-type varieties often still managed to 

survive temperatures of six degrees below 

zero, most of the mutants already displayed 

clear signs of damage at this point, which 

demonstrates the essential role steroid hormones 

play in this process. By analysing the 

process, the researchers found that brassinosteroids 

increase frost resistance by regulating 

a protein called CESTA. This protein uses 

a signal cascade to control gene expression. 

In this manner, it in turn influences the protein 

composition of the cells, which among 

other things appears to lead to a change in 

the fatty acid composition. This ensures that 

the plant stocks up on a type of 'winter fat' on 

a molecular level, thereby protecting it from 

potential cold damage. 

Spray-on steroids for plants 

These exact findings regarding the order and 

type of chemical processes for the effects of 

steroid hormones in plants are not only an 

important step forward for basic research 

into the adaptation strategies of plants. More 

importantly, according to the researchers, 

they may also provide solutions to problems, 

which have occurred in agriculture as a result 

of climate change. Although people generally 

only associate global warming with an 

increased occurrence of hot periods, it also 

causes an increase in the number of frost 

events, such as early and late frosts, which 

can lead to devastating harvest shortfalls. 

"The conventional method of breeding more 

resistant plants has not been very successful 

so far, as resistance to cold and reduced 

growth are difficult to separate", says Brigitte 

Poppenberger. But she's convinced that "our 

discovery that brassinosteroids boost both 

growth and cold resistance will open up new 

possibilities for bringing out both characteristics 

in plants." She asserts that it's also possible 

to spray crop plants with brassinosteroids 

to achieve both effects. "That may be a viable 

method—at least, that's what the findings 

suggest."


Professor Gostomski awarded Hanson 

Medal for Christchurch earthquake article 

The Institution of Chemical 

Engineers (IChemE) has presented 

the Hanson Medal to Professor 

Peter Gostomski, for his thoughtprovoking 

article published in The 

Chemical Engineer. 

Professor Gostomski, Head of the 

chemical engineering department at 

University of Canterbury, New Zealand, 

received the medal at Chemeca 2016, 

the biggest chemical engineering conference 

in Australasia. 

The Hanson Medal is awarded annually 

to an outstanding contributor to IChemE’s 

magazine, The Chemical Engineer. It is 

named after a past chairman of the Editorial 

Advisory Board. 

Professor Gostomski’s article, Down but 

not out, was published in October 2014. 

It describes the efforts of the University of 

Canterbury to keep its facilities running following 

the two earthquakes that hit Christchurch, 

New Zealand. 

The first incident hit headlines in September 

2010, but the second earthquake 

struck at the start of a new academic year 

in February 2011, and affected Canterbury’s 

chemical engineering department significantly. 

On being awarded the Hanson medal he 

said: “It was quite a surprise and honour to 

win the Hanson medal. It was a privilege for 

me to describe the tremendous efforts by 

my colleagues and students during a very 

trying time.” 

Adam Duckett, editor of The Chemical 

Engineer said: “It is a remarkable story 

of perseverance, and cooperation among 

university departments and the wider community 

in the face of what was clearly an 

incredibly traumatic time. 

“While Peter notes that it’s not clear 

whether a significant amount of planning 

would have helped the department deal 

any better with the situation, he offers valuable 

lessons around safety processes and 

communication that I expect others will 

find relevant for their own business continuity 

plans.” 

The medal was presented by IChemE’s 

president Jonathan Seville, at the Chemeca 

conference held in Adelaide, Australia in late 

September. 

The annual conference is the biggest 

gathering of chemical and process engineers 

in Australia and New Zealand. 

Nominations for the 2016 Hanson Medal 

close on 31 October. Those interested in 

nominating should visit www.icheme.org/ 

medals for further information. 

New Thermo Scientific TSX ULT Freezer 

A 

NEW 

ultra-low temperature freezer 

is designed to offer laboratories a 

greener solution: less power consumption 

less noise and higher efficiency 

without compromising the integrity of 

samples. 

The Thermo Scientific TSX ultra-low temperature 

freezer features natural refrigerants 

for lower environmental impact and 

higher cooling 

efficiency. Due 

to its intuitive 

design the TSX 

freezer uses up 

to 50 percent 

less energy 

than conventional 

refrigerant 

ultra-low 

freezers and 

delivers temperature 

uniformity 

that 

continuously 

adapts to a 

laboratory’s 

PRODUCT NEWS 

environment. 

“Energy efficiency is a feature most lab 

managers and sustainability officers look 

for when making purchasing decisions but 

energy savings can come at the expense of 

sample integrity” said Chris Champlin vice 

president and general manager Controlled 

Temperature Technologies at Thermo Fisher 

Scientific. “The new Thermo Scientific TSX 

ultra-low temperature freezer delivers unparalleled 

efficiency noise reduction and 

sample protection. Now labs can not only 

reap the benefits of significant energy savings 

but also feel confident that their samples 

are in an environment designed for 

their protection.” 

Conventional ultra-low temperature 

freezers use single-speed compressors that 

continually cycle on and off resulting in poor 

temperature recovery following door openings. 

The TSX ultra-low temperature freezer 

is the only freezer of its kind equipped with 

the unique V-Drive technology. 

When conditions are stable the V-Drive 

is designed to operate at a low speed to reduce 

energy consumption while maintaining 

a uniform temperature. When dealing 

with frequent door openings or when samples 

are added to the freezer the control system 

detects the activity and increases the 

drive speed to bring temperatures quickly 

back to the set point. 

The V-Drive also helps limit sound output 

to 46 db(A) making the TSX freezer up to 20 

times quieter comparable to a conventional 

refrigerator. For busy labs the constant disruptive 

noise created by compressors can 

compromise communications and create a 

less–than-ideal working environment. What’s 

more the freezer utilizes water-blown foam 

insulation which eliminates the off-gassing 

typical of urethane-insulated freezers. 

Additional product features include a 

600-box sample capacity to maximize storage 

within a 1.06m2 footprint intuitive touch 

screen interface for access to vital freezer information 

and on-board computer and USB 

port for data storage and exchange. 

For more information please email 

LabEquipmentNZ@thermofisher.com or 

visit www.thermofisher.co.nz/tsxfreezer 

[ 11 ] 

ISSUE 115 | OCTOBER 2016



PRODUCT NEWS 

Leica Microsystems - Worlddidac 

Award for educational microscope 

Leica Microsystems’ most recent addition 

to the educational product family, the 

Leica EZ4 W educational stereomicroscope, 

has been recognized with the Worlddidac 

Award 2016. This award is the most 

famous international prize in the education 

sector for innovative and pedagogically highly 

valuable products for learning and teaching. 

The Leica EZ4 W makes the microscopy 

classroom wireless, live-streaming HD images 

to students’ smartphones or tablets in the science 

classroom and beyond. It forms part of 

an entire family if educational microscopes 

specifically designed for schools and universities. 

Earlier in 2010, the DM500 compound 

educational microscope won the same award. 

Having a student-friendly concept along with 

its EZStore design, AgTreat antibacterial 

surface and international safety 

certifications helped to stand out 

among other products being judged. 

Winning the Worlddidac Award 

shows Leica’s commitment to quality, 

innovation and education. 

And having the EZ4 W and the 

DM500 with ICC50 W camera – learning 

becomes more interactive and exciting 

with Wi-Fi Education Solutions 

from Leica Microsystems. 

For more information please contact 

Bio-Strategy 

T: 0800 34 24 66 

E: info@bio-strategy.com 

www.bio-strategy.com 

Probably the world's most advanced energy-efficient, quiet, and 

compact range of biosafety cabinets – from ESCO 

The Esco Airstream® E Series Class 

II Biological Safety Cabinets are an 

effective solution in providing operator, 

product and environmental protection 

within laboratories and industrial 

facilities. 

With the presence of its DC ECM blower, 

these are one of the most energy-efficient 

Class II Biosafety Cabinets in the world 

with 70% energy savings compared to 

AC motors. They also feature stable and 

self-compensating airflow, despite building 

voltage fluctuations and filter loading. 

Their large performance envelope is 

an open declaration of possible 

safe operating airflow values. Certified 

to EN 12469, Esco Airstream® 

E Series Class II Biological Safety 

Cabinets also have antimicrobial 

coating on all its external and internal 

painted surfaces for improved 

safety 

Available in 0.6m, 0.9m, 1.2m, 

1.5m, 1.8m sizes, the cabinets are 

supplied with modular stainless 

steel work surfaces for easy cleaning, 

glass side windows allowing entry of more 

natural light, ULPA filters (10 x better efficiency 

than HEPA filters) for improved 

safety, ergonomic sloping front and manual 

sash. A full length external stainless 

steel armrest aids in correct operating 

posture. Accessories include UV lighting 

(safety interlocked to sash), service taps, 

internal electrical sockets, stands etc. With 

comprehensive alarms and a three-year 

warranty – Esco provides peace of mind. 


Bio-Strategy 

T: 0800 34 24 66 


www.bio-strategy.com 

NEW ZEALAND 

laboratorynews 

New Zealand Laboratory News and Bio Science is published alternate months by 

Waikato Business Publications 

PO Box 1425, Hamilton, New Zealand 

Ph (07) 838 1333 | Fax (07) 838 2807 | Email: labnews@wbn.co.nz 

Editor: Mike Blake 

Please submit editorial contributions to: mike.blake@wbn.co.nz 

Advertising Manager: Barbara Hambling 

Email: labnews@wbn.co.nz 

Production Manager: Tania Hogg 

Please submit advertising material to: production@wbn.co.nz 

[ 12 ]

In association with the NZ Microbiological Society Inc. 

Vol. 25 No. 5 • October 2016 

Pushing the limits of discovery 

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is being utilized for 

numerous new and exciting applications, such as single cell 

analysis, liquid biopsy research, circulating-free DNA (cfDNA) 

studies, metagenomics and targeted sequencing. Whether 

you’re studying single cells or populations, selected genes 

or whole genomes, QIAGEN’s innovative high-quality products 

harness the power of NGS to help reveal meaningful insights 

for results that make an impact. Use QIAGEN® solutions and 

push the boundaries of your scientific research! 

Sample to Insight 

For more information please contact us! 

www.bio-strategy.com | T: 0800 34 24 66 

LN_BioSci_1016_FC_QIA_NGS_trsfr.indd 1 

6/10/2016 12:31:39 p.m.


VOL. 25 NO. 5 | OCTOBER 2016 

NEW: CryoCube ® 

ULT Freezers 

Stay Cool 

CryoCube ® Ultra-low Temperature Freezers 

CryoCube ultra-low temperature > New automatic vent port on front door 

freezers combine maximum sample allows for easy re-entry into your 

security with improved functionality. freezer while also improving energy 

efficiency 

New advancements decrease power 

> New ergonomic handle requires less 

consumption and make CryoCube 

force and improves freezer access 

freezers among the most energy 

> New magnetic closures on insulated 

efficient in the industry. 

inner doors further increase ease-of- 

Eppendorf quality means years of use 

trouble free operation and dependable 

support. 

[ 2 ] 

www.eppendorf.com 

Eppendorf ® , the Eppendorf logo and CryoCube ® are registered trademarks of Eppendorf AG, Germany. All rights reserved, including graphics and images. Copyright © 2016 by Eppendorf AG.


Parkinson’s trial successful 

Sydney, Australia and Auckland, 

New Zealand – Living Cell 

Technologies Limited has 

completed treatment of all six 

patients in group 1 of the Phase 

IIb clinical trial of NTCELL® for 

Parkinson’s disease, at Auckland 

City Hospital. 

Four patients had 40 NTCELL microcapsules 

implanted into the putamen 

on each side of their brain, and 

two patients had sham surgery with no 

NTCELL implanted. 

To date there are no safety issues in any 

of the six patients. 

The company is blind to the results until 

26 weeks after completion of the trial, 

at which point the patients who received 

the placebo will receive the optimal dose 

of NTCELL. 

The next step is the Data Safety Monitoring 

Board reviewing the patients’ results 

and giving approval to treat the six 

patients in group 2 with the next dose of 

NTCELL (80 microcapsules implanted into 

the putamen on each side of their brain). 

Principal investigator Dr Barry Snow 

presented data from the earlier Phase I/IIa 

clinical trial to prospective patients and 

their partners and supporters at meetings 

organised by Parkinson’s New Zealand. 

These meetings were oversubscribed 

and have assisted patient recruitment for 

the clinical trial. 

Auckland City Hospital has invested in 

additional equipment and arranged extra 

surgical sessions dedicated to treating 

multiple patients in the clinical trial. These 

measures will accelerate trial progress. 

The company plans to complete group 

2 by the end of 2016 and group 3 by the 

end of February 2017. 

The Phase IIb trial aims to confirm the 

most effective dose of NTCELL, define any 

placebo component of the response and 

further identify the initial target Parkinson’s 

disease patient sub group. 

If the trial is successful, the company 

will apply for provisional consent to treat 

paying patients in New Zealand in Q4 

2017. 


Cinfa Biotech starts second clinical study of 

pegfilgrastim biosimilar candidate 

Pamplona, Spain - Cinfa Biotech S.L., 

the biosimilars company of Infarco 

group, recently announced the start 

of the second clinical study with its lead 

development candidate B12019, a biosimilar 

version of Neulasta(R) (pegfilgrastim) to 

treat chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. 

The objective of the trial is to investigate 

the pharmacodynamics (PD) and 

immunogenicity of B12019 compared to 

Neulasta(R). 

The multiple-dose, randomised, double-blind, 

cross-over study will enrol 96 

healthy volunteers in Germany. Secondary 

endpoints of the trial include pharmacokinetic 

(PK) and safety parameters. The study 

design is based on scientific advice from 

the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and 

is tailored to the specific properties of pegfilgrastim. 

Dr. Ruediger Jankowsky, managing director 

of Cinfa Biotech GmbH, commented: 

"The successful clinical trial of B12019, 

which we reported earlier this year, allowed 

for the immediate continuation of 

the clinical development programme, especially 

since proving that we have such a 

high-quality product and a confirmed development 

strategy. The timely start of the 

second clinical study marks an important 

milestone in the development of B12019." 

Pegfilgrastim is indicated to treat chemotherapy-induced 

neutropenia. The pegylated 

granulocyte colony-stimulating 

factor (G-CSF) receptor agonist is used to 

stimulate bone marrow to produce more 

neutrophils in order to decrease the incidence 

of infections in patients undergoing 

chemotherapy. 

About Cinfa Biotech 

Cinfa Biotech is headquartered in Pamplona, 

Spain, with offices in Munich, Germany. 

Founded in 2013 and supported by 

its parent company Infarco, the company is 

creating a pipeline of biosimilar drugs for a 

range of indications to address the growing 

need for affordable therapies based on 

proven science, quality, safety and efficacy. 

A complete team of experts with decades 

of in-depth experience is conducting 

product development, clinical studies, 

manufacturing and quality control, 

according to the highest European standards. 

Cinfa Biotech's first product candidate 

in clinical development is B12019, a 

biosimilar version of Neulasta(R) (pegfilgrastim). 

The commercialisation models 

will be customised to the needs of partners 

and markets. 

With 50 years' experience, Infarco today 

employs more than 1400 people and reinvests 

an average of 90 percent of its annual 

profits in its portfolio companies, thereby 

driving their development and innovation. 

Infarco's first subsidiary, Laboratorios Cinfa, 

has become a recognised leader in the 

Spanish pharmaceutical market. As part of 

the internationalisation strategy, the company 

also serves in currently more than 50 

countries and is further expanding. 

For more information, please visit: http:// 

www.cinfabiotech.com 

Argint International Voted as Top10 CRO 

Budapest, Hungary - Argint International 

(“Argint”), a European clinical research 

organisation specialised in providing 

services to small and medium sized pharmaceutical 

and biotech companies, have been 

ranked as a top 10 CRO by members of the 

Pharma IQ community. Pharma IQ, a division 

of IQPC, is an international online community 

focusing on providing pharmaceutical 

professionals with knowledge, information 

and articles. 

The voting base was 100,000 members of 

the Pharma IQ network, made up of participants 

from big pharma, SME pharma and solution 

providers. When choosing a CRO, quality 

of services was seen as the most important 

factor of Pharma IQ members, closely followed 

by reputation and level of experience. 

Agnes Pinnel, CEO of Argint International 

commented: “Argint is extremely pleased 

to be recognised by its clients and industry 

peers for the quality of its services. We would 

like to thank everyone who voted for us. This 

recognition is really for the people who have 

worked for Argint over the years and helped 

Argint develop into a CRO that our clients 

can rely upon.” 

[ 3 ]



A man on a drug discovery mission 

A Victoria University of Wellington 

professor, whose work has led to 

trials for the treatment of cancers 

and gout, says New Zealand is 

carrying out world class research in 

drug discovery. 

Professor Peter Tyler from Victoria’s Ferrier 

Research Institute’s career in chemistry 

spans 35 years—and 32 patents 

for potential drug candidates. 

“Drug discovery is absolutely feasible in 

New Zealand, and we are doing world class 

research,” says Professor Tyler. “I really relish 

working on something that I know will ultimately 

be useful, and provide much needed 

treatments.” 

As he explained in his inaugural lecture, 

when chemistry is partnered with biology, 

real progress can be made. 

“I’ve worked on a number of research 

projects that have resulted in promising 

drug candidates. This includes Forodesine, 

which has been through several clinical trials 

for T-cell cancers, and Ulodesine, which has 

successfully completed a phase two clinical 

trial for gout. 

“One of our compounds has also been 

shown to have efficacy against malaria. Others 

have demonstrated activity against the 

disease visceral leishmaniasis—which is a 

particular problem in Brazil. Another compound 

is in preclinical development against 

solid tumours, and has also shown broad activity 

against several types of cancer. 

“We are looking to develop new compounds 

that target trypanosome parasites— 

parasites which are the cause of Chagas 

disease in central and South America, and 

African sleeping sickness.” 

Professor Tyler also talked about his research 

into a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s 

disease, which recently received 

more than $850,000 in funding for its development. 

“Our drug candidates for Alzheimer’s 

disease are significantly different from 

Professor Peter Tyler. 

others—no one else in the world is using this 

approach.” 

The chemistry created during this research 

is now being extended into a threeyear 

research study targeting cellular communications, 

supported by the Marsden 

Fund. 

A Victoria graduate for his Bachelor’s 

degree and PhD, Professor Tyler joined the 

University in 2014 when the Ferrier Research 

Institute was formed. Before that, 

he worked as a scientist at Callaghan Innovation, 

and the former Industrial Research 

Limited and Department of Scientific and 

Industrial Research. 

BIOTRONIK showcases positive 

results for lower limb intervention 

BIOTRONIK showcased the efficacy of 

its lower limb intervention portfolio 

recently at a scientific symposium at 

CIRSE 2016. 

Encouraging data were presented for 

the Pulsar-18 bare metal self-expanding 

(BMS SE) stent as well as for the Passeo-18 

Lux drug-coated balloon (DCB), both 

stand-alone and together in combination 

treatment of superficial femoral artery 

(SFA) disease. 

12-month interim results of BIOFLEX 

PEACE all-comers registry show that the 

Pulsar-18 BMS SE alone continues to be an 

effective treatment option in the SFA. 

The primary patency rate of 75.0 percent 

and freedom from target lesion revascularisation 

(TLR) of 93.1 percent confirm 

the results of previous Pulsar studies.1,2 

Meanwhile, 12-month data on the first 

200 patients (of more than 850 enrolled) 

in the BIOLUX P-III all-comers registry supports 

earlier findings3 in establishing Passeo-18 

Lux DCB’s efficacy. The interim data 

showed a freedom from clinically-driven 

TLR of 94.0 percent. 

Furthermore, “BIOTRONIK Combination 

Therapy” continues to show promise; 

this approach offers physicians the versatility 

to treat target lesions with a DCB in 

combination with a Pulsar BMS SE stent in 

segments where scaffolding support is required. 

Interim data from the BIOLUX 4EVER 

study for 90 patients demonstrated primary 

patency at 12 months of 88.9 percent, 

and a freedom from TLR of 92.5 percent. 

This is in line with data previously reported 

for BIOTRONIK Combination Therapy at the 

same analysis timepoint.4 

“It is notable that the treatment of lesions 

with both Passeo-18 Lux DCB and 

Pulsar BMS SE during the same intervention 

leads to numerically similar patency 

rates for those obtained with drug-eluting 

stents,” commented a lead investigator for 

the BIOLUX 4EVER trial, Dr. Koen Deloose, 

AZ Sint-Blasius in Dendermonde, Belgium. 

“It remains to be seen how this looks in the 

mid to long-term, and also whether using 

DCB first or BMS first makes any difference 

with regard to clinical outcomes.” 

“It is great to see BIOTRONIK devices 

continuously proving safety and efficacy 

when used either as a stand-alone treatment 

or combined,” stated Dr. Alexander 

Uhl, BIOTRONIK vice president marketing, 

Vascular Intervention. 

“We are particularly excited by the results 

of current BIOTRONIK combination 

therapy studies. We believe this approach 

allows physicians the flexibility to decide 

how much metal is necessary to leave behind: 

either full lesion coverage or only 

where support is needed. We very much 

look forward to presenting further data 

due in 2017 and beyond, from these and 

other running studies.” 

References: 

1 Bosiers M et al. J Endovasc Ther. 2013, 20. 

2 Lichtenberg M et al. J Endovasc Ther. 2014, 21. 

3 Scheinert D, et al. J Endovasc Ther . 2015, 22 (1). 

4 Mwipatayi P. Self-Expanding Thin Strut Nitinol 

Stents (Pulsar) Plus DEBs: 2-Year Results from The 

DEBAS Trial Are Promising. Presented at: LINC 2017. 

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT0187935 

[ 4 ]


Nuevolution announces strategic collaboration 

with Amgen in oncology and neuroscience 

Nuevolution provides Amgen 

access to its proprietary Chemetics® 

drug discovery platform to identify 

and develop novel therapeutics. 

Nuevolution is eligible to receive up 

to USD 410 million per development 

programme and tiered royalties on 

future sales. Amgen has the exclusive option 

to obtain all rights to successfully developed 

programmes. 

Nuevolution AB (publ) (NUE.ST) announced 

recently that it and Amgen have 

entered into a multiple target research collaboration 

to develop and commercialise 

novel therapeutics in the areas of oncology 

and neuroscience. Nuevolution will apply its 

Chemetics® drug discovery platform to discover 

and advance potential therapeutics of 

interest to Amgen. The research collaboration 

brings together Nuevolution’s proprietary 

drug discovery platform with Amgen’s disease 

expertise and drug development capabilities. 

Under the terms of the agreement, Amgen 

has an exclusive option to obtain all rights to 

successfully developed programmes. Nuevolution 

is eligible to receive a license fee payment 

upon option exercise and milestone 

payments upon achievement of specified 

research, development and commercial milestones, 

amounting up to USD 410 million per 

target. Nuevolution would also be entitled to 

receive royalties on future sales. Additional financial 

details are not being disclosed. 

Nuevolution will be responsible for the 

early research phase and Amgen will work 

collaboratively with Nuevolution during latestage 

research. Amgen will be fully responsible 

for preclinical development, clinical development 

and commercialisation worldwide. 

“We are excited about entering into this 

broad collaboration with Amgen,” said Alex 

Gouliaev, CEO of Nuevolution A/S and continued, 

“the agreement with Amgen represents 

an important business component for Nuevolution 

in its ambition to discover and develop 

new medicines for severe diseases, while also 

capitalising on Nuevolution’s powerful drug 

discovery engine. We are looking forward to 

an excellent working relationship with Amgen’s 

dedicated research and development 

teams.” 

“Amgen is pleased to enter this agreement 

with Nuevolution to leverage their platform 

to identify small molecule compounds for 

targets that are difficult to drug using conventional 

methods,” said Alexander Kamb, Ph.D., 

senior vice president of Discovery Research at 

Amgen. “DNA-encoded screening platforms 

such as Nuevolution’s allows for rapid screening 

of billions of compounds to help bring important 

therapies to the clinic faster and with 

increased precision.” 

About Nuevolution 

Nuevolution AB (publ) is a leading small 

molecule drug discovery biotech company 

founded in 2001, headquartered in Copenhagen, 

Denmark. Nuevolution partners its proprietary 

discovery platform and programmes 

with pharmaceutical and biotechnology 

companies to seek future benefit of patients 

in need of novel medical treatment options. 

Nuevolution’s internal programmes are focused 

on therapeutically important targets 

within inflammation, oncology and immunooncology. 


2016 Christmas Sale 

1 November – 16 December 

10% off everything 

Contact Tim Watts 

tim.watts@coherent.com.au 

Special pricing on all 

popular models 

Contact Julia King 

julia.king@coherent.com.au 

Optical tables, laboratory tables 

& tabletop platforms all reduced 

Contact Julia King 

julia.king@coherent.com.au 

General Microscopy : Tony Bradshaw 

tony.bradshaw@coherent.com.au 

Advanced Microscopy Systems : Dr Rob Woolley 

robert.woolley@coherent.com.au 

www.coherent.com.au 

[ 5 ]



Feel powerful 

with the NEW Precellys Evolution Homogenizer 

Bertin Technologies introduces the NEW Precellys Evolution; a universal 

tissue homogenizer with the ability to grind, homogenize or lyse any type 

of soft or hard biological sample. 

Suitable for a range of materials 

including animal, human, plant or 

microorganism 

Spin 24 x 2ml/0.5ml, 12 x 7mL or 

6 x 15mL tubes 

Unique figure-8 multi-directional 

motion provides the same high 

level of energy and homogenization 

efficiency to all the tubes 

Choice of speed from 4500rpm 

up to 10000rpm 

Patented cooling unit for 

sensitive samples 

Added safety with automatic tube 

locking system 

1000+ Precellys’ application 

and references 

2yr Warranty 

For more information visit thermofisher.co.nz/precellys or call 0800-933-966 

[ 6 ]


PRODUCT NEWS 

Bertin Technologies Precellys Evolution Homogeniser 

In order to meet the needs of its clients 

in Life Sciences and Research and 

thus strengthen its position as leader 

for the lysing and homogenization of 

biological samples on the international 

market, Bertin Technologies is taking an 

innovative step forward, launching a new 

state-of-the-art apparatus called Precellys 

Evolution. 

Dedicated to the highly demanding 

markets of forensic science, pharmaceutical 

R&D and even environmental or 

cosmetic analysis, the Precellys range of 

equipment has won widespread global 

recognition from the scientific community 

as tools that are hard-wearing, efficient 

and ergonomic. 

The strength of Precellys Evolution 

lies in particular in its efficiency; in this 

respect it is far superior to manual grinding 

(mortar), to ultrasound treatment 

(sonication) and also to chemical lysis. 

The mechanical lysis performed by this 

new equipment is achieved by the action 

of beads and more importantly a "precessional" 

motion at speeds up to 10 000 

revolutions per minute. 

Bertin Technologies designed its first 

biological sample homogenizer in 2002, 

at the behest of Bio-Rad Laboratories, 

during the crisis period involving ESB. 

This new piece of equipment needed to 

be able to address key issues associated 

with the performance of analyses in BSL3 

laboratories. On the basis of this development, 

the Precellys range was born 

in 2004, a family that has steadily grown 

year after year, with the arrival of new 

equipment of varying capacities (e.g. 

Minilys), additional options (Cryolys) and 

special grinding kits for specific applications 

or sample types (lysing kits). 

The New Precellys Evolution benefits 

from a unique technology patented by 

Bertin, a technology that makes it possible 

to efficiently homogenize an even 

greater number of different sized tubes, 

from 0.5mL to 15mL. It guarantees identical 

homogenization in each of the 24 

tubes. 

For more information please email 

LabEquipmentNZ@thermofisher.com or 

visit www.thermofisher.co.nz/precellys 


Verseon presents further trial data on the low bleeding 

risk of its family of preclinical anti-coagulant drugs 

Fremont, California – Further evidence 

on the low bleeding profile of Verseon’s 

novel family of anti-coagulants was presented 

at the BioEurope conference in Stockholm, 

Sweden recently. 

The new data reinforces the promise of 

Verseon’s novel, highly selective direct thrombin 

inhibitors (DTIs) as a potential treatment 

for venous thrombotic disorders while maintaining 

a lower bleeding risk than current 

drugs. 

The latest preclinical trial results, based on 

a stasis-induced venous thrombosis model, 

adds to the list of successful studies performed 

by the company and broadens the 

therapeutic potential of Verseon’s DTIs to a 

wide range of thrombotic disorders, including 

stroke prevention for atrial fibrillation patients, 

deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, 

and acute coronary syndrome. 

About Verseon’s 

Anticoagulant Programme 

Verseon’s new class of anticoagulants are 

part of a growing portfolio of drug programs 

being developed with the aid of the company’s 

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[ 7 ]



Boysenberries may be of benefit to asthma sufferers 

Globally it is estimated that 150 million 

people are affected by asthma, 

with children making up around 10 

percent of sufferers. In New Zealand, one 

of every nine adults and every seven children 

are prescribed asthma medication. 

New research suggests that regular Boysenberry 

consumption may improve lung 

function by reducing symptoms associated 

with inflammation of the airways, which 

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Previous studies have found that lung 

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fruits which contain high levels of antioxidant 

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Through their investigations with berryfruits, 

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Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, 

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polyphenols play in reducing the effects of 

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“We’ve seen some really exciting results 

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Hurst. “Our results suggest that Boysenberry 

consumption may help protect the lungs 

and associated airways from the chronic 

buildup of damaged and scar tissue. 

“These agents appear to support an environment 

capable of reducing scar tissue 

deposits on the lungs.” 

The research also observed structural 

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activation of specific immune cell types 

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These findings provide the first evidence 

that Boysenberry consumption 

could be used to support the body’s natural 

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[ 8 ] 

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Laboratory News & BioScience October 2016

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