Discovery systems ­ 24% of total Amersham sales

High throughput systems (instrument, reagents and software) and stand-alone consumables for applications in genomics (DNA sequencing, gene expression and genetic variation), proteomics (study of proteins and their role in biological function), and bioassays (analysis of cellular processes in metabolism and disease, used for screening and testing of potential new drugs)

Sales 2002: £394m

Operations

Headquarters in Piscataway, NJ, USA. R&D and manufacturing sites in Sweden, UK and USA. Global sales and service organisation supporting all instrument and technology platforms. 2,700 employees.

Customers

Scientists and academic centres of excellence around the world; pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; privately and publicly funded research organisations; medical schools and universities.

Market drivers

Pressure on pharmaceutical companies to speed up discovery and development of new drugs
Increased focus on functional biology (what genes and proteins actually do)

Competitive strengths

Track record in innovation
Consumables and reagents used on own and competitors' instruments
Partnership approach with customers
Strong reputation and global franchise

Strategic focus

Enabling molecular medicine by feeding advances in functional biology and diagnostics, with the goal of understanding how genes, proteins and cellular factors interact in normal development, in disease and in individual response to treatment.

Key platforms, discovery systems

Gene expression Humans have approximately 35,000 genes. Gene expression analysis is the determination of which genes are active, or expressed, at any given time. Changes in the normal level of gene expression may be linked with particular disease states and drug responses. Microarrays, which are small slides or chips spotted with thousands of DNA samples, allow scientists to compare the expression levels of thousands of genes in a single experiment. We provide CodeLink™ pre-arrayed slides for gene expression and genotyping, as well as Lucidea™ custom slides platform, for scientists who wish to make their own arrays. DNA sequencing DNA sequencing is the process of reading the genetic code of humans, animals and plants. We are the market leader in the supply of enzymes used in DNA sequencing. Products include TempliPhi™ template preparation kits for producing amplified DNA samples as well as MegaBACE™ instruments for high throughput DNA sequencing.

Protein analysis Humans have up to two million different proteins. Proteins are responsible for maintaining all cellular function and their production is encoded in DNA. Disease may be the result of gene mutations that cause changes in protein structure and activity. Therefore, characterising proteins and understanding their function is important for identifying novel drug targets (which are usually proteins) and designing more effective medicines. Ettan™ high throughput protein analysis platform uses technologies including 2D gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry to identify and characterise proteins, and to compare protein expression in diseased and normal tissues, enabling drugs to be targeted to diseases. Other leading products include the CyDye™ range of fluorescent dyes.

Drug screening (bioassays) Following drug target identification, pharmaceutical companies need a rapid system for screening the target against libraries of chemical compounds to find compounds that interact with the target and have the potential to become effective drugs. The screening system is called a bioassay. Our high throughput instruments include LEADseeker™, which has the ability to screen up to one million new drug compounds a day, and IN Cell Analyzer, which enables scientists to study the effects of a potential new drug on living cells in real time. Products also include a range of custom-labelled reagents for toxicology testing.

Informatics Informatics is the application of software and computer technology to acquire, annotate, manage and mine biological data. Scierra™ is our platform of software solutions for managing laboratory workflow systems ­ from the acquisition of data and the analysis of experimental results, to the transfer of refined data into drug discovery databases.