/PRNewswire/ -- Bluechiip Limited [ASX: BCT] today announced it has signed a Term Sheet to execute a Collaborative Co-Development Agreement with Swiss company Inpeco SA which allows both parties to collaborate to develop Inpeco products which integrate Bluechiip's technology.
Based in Lugano, Switzerland, Inpeco designs and manufactures automation systems for the total automation of clinical laboratories, so improving and simplifying biological sample processing. Inpeco works closely with some of the world's largest and most advanced healthcare and technology companies. Inpeco's solutions operate in more than 500 clinical laboratories around the world, making biological sample workflow an efficient and fast automatic process.
"We are delighted that Inpeco, a leader in its field, is looking at integrating Bluechiip's tracking technology in its products," said Bluechiip Limited CEO and Managing Director, Brett Schwarz. "Integrating the bluechiip® technology into the robotics of automated laboratory equipment is a critical step in the movement away from manual systems."
Dr Jason Chaffey, Bluechiip Limited Chief Technical Officer (CTO), said, "We are confident that our technology will be valuable in automated equipment used in life sciences where samples are being stored in ultra-cold environments like liquid nitrogen. Current tracking and labelling techniques of labels and barcodes do not operate well in these ultra-low temperature environments, especially when frost is prevalent. It is also critical to be able to monitor the temperature of these valuable samples, which only the bluechiip® tracking technology can do."
Inpeco believes the incorporation of Bluechiip's tracking and identification technology into Inpeco's products will address several unmet needs of Inpeco customers.
Andrea Pedrazzini, President of Inpeco, said, "We see a tremendous opportunity in the area of automation for the storing and retrieving of huge quantities of biological samples at very low temperatures for very long periods, up to many years; a process which at the time being is still performed manually with inefficiency and risk of errors. We are working to develop automation solutions to fully automate this process. After looking for a tracking and monitoring solution that will survive in these challenging environments we came to the conclusion that Bluechiip could assist us with that solution."
In May 2012, global business research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, announced in their report titled Global Biobanking Automation Market that the global automation market for biobanking applications in 2011 was $818 million. By 2018 it is estimated to reach $1.42 billion.
Each year, around 100 million samples are being added to biobanks worldwide. Ms Divyaa Ravishankar, Senior Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan has been reported as saying "Adoption of automation in biobanks has bestowed key benefits such as ease of error handling, preserving sample integrity, labour maintenance, and energy cost savings".
About Bluechiip Limited:
Bluechiip has developed a wireless tracking solution for the healthcare and life science, security, defence and manufacturing industries which represents a generational change from current methods such as labels (hand-written and pre-printed), barcodes (linear and 2D) and microelectronic integrated circuit (IC)-based RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). The unique tag is based on MEMS technology and contains no electronics. The tag can either be embedded or manufactured into a storage product, such as vials or bags. Easy identification, along with any associated information from the tag such as temperature can be detected by a reader, which can also sense the temperature of the tagged items. The traditional identification technologies have significant limitations. Whereas a barcode requires a visible tag or line-of-sight optical scan, bluechiip® technology does not. Unlike labels, barcodes and RFID, the bluechiip® technology can sense the temperature of each item a tag is attached to, or embedded in. The bluechiip® technology has initial applications in the healthcare industry particularly those businesses which require cryogenic storage facilities (biobanks and biorepositories). bluechiip® offers the only technology that enables accurate and reliable tracking of products including stem cells, cord blood, and other biospecimens. In addition to functioning in extreme temperatures, the bluechiip® tracking solution can survive autoclaving, gamma irradiation sterilization, humidification, centrifuging, cryogenic storage and frosting. The bluechiip® technology has other healthcare applications in pathology, clinical trials and forensics. Several other key markets outside of healthcare include cold-chain logistics/supply chain, security/defence, industrial/manufacturing and aerospace/aviation.
About Inpeco:
Inpeco is dedicated to design and manufacture automation systems to improve and simplify biological sample processing in clinical laboratories. Inpeco offers OEM solutions to its strategic, international partners, and also acts as direct supplier, providing end-users (i.e. public and private laboratories) with the Inpeco's branded FlexLab automation system. Founded in 1980 by Andrea Pedrazzini, through thirty years of international activity with strategic partners, Inpeco has acquired the proper technological experience to develop quality automation products, offering consultancy and support services for the total satisfaction of its partners as well as end users. Today Inpeco's solutions are present in more than 500 clinical laboratories around the world, making biological sample workflow an efficient and fast automatic process.
For more information:
Brett Schwarz
Managing Director, Bluechiip Limited
Phone: +61-419-367-590
brett.schwarz@bluechiip.com
Richard Allen
Oxygen Financial Public Relations
Phone: +61 3 9915 6341
richard@oxygenpr.com.au
