BioWorld International Correspondent

PARIS - Eurofins Scientific said its two new pharmaceutical testing laboratories, one in Aurora, Colo., and one in Singapore, now are fully operational.

The Eurofins/Medinet laboratory in Aurora is specialized in services based on the application of mass spectrometry techniques to the development, validation, measuring and selection of biomarkers. The new technologies it has developed include biochemical analysis, whether targeted or not (metabolomics) and protein analysis (proteomics).

Another service the facility offers customers is the development and validation of tests for quantifying endogenous compounds, medicines and their metabolites on the basis of mass spectrometry tests for ultra-sensitive detection and a set of bioanalytical services adapted to each phase of drug development.

According to laboratory General Manager Arnold Verbeek, "the market for biomarkers is growing apace . . . The development of biomarkers will be essential for developing more efficacious and safer medicines, as well as for more specific and more sensitive clinical diagnostics."

The Eurofins/Medinet laboratory in Singapore represents an extension of the company's existing network of central laboratories in Europe and the U.S. and offers a range of pharmaceutical testing services in support of clinical trials and drug development.

Based in Nantes, France, but with its operational headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Eurofins Scientific performs analytical testing for the food industry but is now intent on becoming a major player in the supply of laboratory services to the biopharmaceutical industry.

The company remains best known for its proprietary methods for verifying the botanical and biological integrity of foodstuffs and beverages and for the detection of living organisms and genetically modified organisms in foodstuffs, beverages and other botanical or biological.