Proteomics: Fluorotechnics gets it right first time

Sydney start-up Fluorotechnics has signed a deal under which multinational Amersham Biosciences will exclusively supply and distribute its Deep Purple protein stain worldwide.

The company, launched in July 2002 to commercialise the stain, is a spin-off from Macquarie University, where it is still headquartered. Deep Purple is a fluorescent stain that detects and visualises proteins in 1D and 2D gels. Amersham claims to offers up to eight times more sensitivity in protein detection.

Fluorotechnics will continue to manufacture the product locally, which CEO Duncan Veal said was an important plus for the small company and its 16 staff.

Veal said Fluorotechnics and Amersham began serious negotiations in August last year, and the deal was finally struck nine months later.

"When we first approached them we didn't really have a product," he said. "We had never worked together before. We had to learn about license agreements -- and to demonstrate that the product was good. They audited our manufacturing capability and now we're an Amersham-approved manufacturer."

Veal said outsourcing the supply and distribution was always on the Fluorotechnics agenda. "We're not in the business of trying to distribute to every little lab in the world," he said. "Amersham was really the distributor we wanted - it's a perfect fit."

Amersham Biosciences' regional vice-president, Peter Leonard, was proud of the role Amersham had played locally in getting the product to market.

"It's the first time we've achieved something of this nature,' he said. "We pass back bits of technology [to Amersham's head office] quite often, but to do a deal with a truly Australian company is a magnificent coup for us."

Veal said a $250,000 federal Biotechnology Innovation Fund grant, backed up by $100,000 from the NSW government, had been key to the product's successful development. The presence of the Australian Proteome Analysis Facility on the Macquarie campus was another bonus, said Veal. "We did demonstrations with APAF, and with Brad Walsh at Minomics," he said.