Enzo Biochem Life Science Unit and BioTek Instruments Form Strategic Collaboration to Provide Innovative System for the Study of Live Cells

Program Combines Enzo's CELLestial(TM) Live Cell Assays and BioTek's Synergy(TM) Mx Monochromator-Based Multi-Mode Microplate Reader.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. & WINOOSKI, Vt.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Enzo Biochem, Inc. (NYSE:ENZ) announced today a co-marketing partnership between its Enzo Life Sciences subsidiary, a world leader in non-radioactive probe technology, and BioTek Instruments, a privately held global leader in the development, manufacture and sale of microplate instrumentation for drug discovery and life science applications, involving powerful, integrated solutions for high throughput live cell analysis.

Aimed at research institutions, as well as biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, this reagents-instrumentation collaboration creates a highly reproducible and reliable platform for live cell analysis, offering a cost effective alternative to dedicated microplate imaging-based systems, which often are too costly for investigators to implement.

The collaboration will be formally launched next month at MipTec 2009 in Basel, Switzerland with the presentation of the scientific poster, entitled "A cost-effective workflow for high-throughput screening of G-Protein-Coupled Receptors (GPCRs)." The poster details the use of Enzo's new FluoForte(TM) Calcium Assay Kit for monitoring intracellular calcium mobilization with BioTek's Synergy(TM) Mx Monochromator-based Multi-Mode Microplate Reader.

Drugs targeting GPCRs represent the core of modern medicine, accounting for the majority of the best-selling drugs and roughly 40% of all prescription pharmaceuticals on the market today. Using BioTek's Precision(TM) XS Automated Sample Processor for all dispensing steps in conjunction with Enzo's proprietary calcium indicator dye technology and Synergy Mx Microplate Reader provides a small-scale, cost effective, automated cell-based screening approach for identifying GPCR agonists and antagonists. The described assay workflow provides low sample-to-sample variability and excellent assay performance in a miniaturized format.

"Through this collaboration, researchers will be able to obtain integrated instrumentation and reagent solutions that are high-performance, yet affordable," said Wayne Patton, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer for Enzo Life Sciences. "The collaboration will provide validated turn-key solutions to the research community."

"Previously, a major source of frustration for many researchers has been that selected assays were not compatible with a particular instrument and vice-versa," said Peter Banks, PhD, Scientific Director for BioTek Instruments. "Our companies each provide key expertise and capabilities in the live-cell analysis arena bringing together BioTek's capabilities in microplate and dispensing technology that matches perfectly with Enzo's cutting-edge live cell analysis reagents and kits."

About Enzo

Enzo Biochem is engaged in the research, development, manufacture and licensing of innovative health care products and technologies based on molecular biology and genetic engineering techniques, and in providing diagnostic services to the medical community. Enzo's Life Sciences division develops, produces and markets proprietary labeling and detection products for gene sequencing, genetic analysis and immunological research among others. Its catalog of over 30,000 products serves the molecular biology, drug discovery and pathology research markets. The Company's therapeutic division is in various stages of clinical evaluation of its proprietary immune regulation medicines for uveitis and Crohn's disease and conducts pre-clinical research on several candidate compounds aimed at producing new mineral and organic bone, including technology that could provide therapy for osteoporosis and fractures, among other applications. Enzo's Clinical Labs division provides routine and esoteric reference laboratory services for physicians in the New York Metropolitan and New Jersey areas. Underpinning the Company's technology and operations is an extensive intellectual property estate in which Enzo owns or licenses over 240 patents worldwide, and has pending applications for over 200 more. For more information visit our website www.enzo.com.

About BioTek Instruments

BioTek Instruments, Inc., headquartered in Winooski, VT, USA, is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture, and sale of microplate instrumentation and software. The company has distribution in over 70 countries and an installed base of 75,000 instruments. BioTek instrumentation is used to aid in the advancement of life science research, facilitate the drug discovery process and to enable cost-effective quantification of disease relevant molecules in the clinic.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this news release may be considered "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements include declarations regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and its management. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could materially affect actual results. The Company disclaims any obligations to update any forward-looking statement as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release.

    Source: Enzo Biochem, Inc.

Released October 1, 2009