Sophion's QPatch expands program at Johns Hopkins Ion Channel Center

North Brunswick, NJ (March 16, 2010). Sophion Bioscience, Inc. announces the installation of a QPatch system at the Johns Hopkins Ion Channel Center (JHICC) in Baltimore, MD, the premier academic screening center dedicated to high throughput screens and bioactive lead discovery of drugable ion channel targets.

Sophion Bioscience has been installing QPatch automated patch clamp systems since 2004. The QPatch family now includes six members: the QPatch 8/8X, QPatch 16/16X and the QPatch HT/HTX. The ion channel research program at the JHICC has been expanded by bringing in a QPatch 16X, which is like having 16 conventional patch clamp set-ups in the space of one. The X-factor provides the additional element of multi-hole recording, which is not available on typical patch clamp rigs and improves the success rate of screening assays. The QPatch 16X also runs unattended so the experimenter can perform other tasks, such as cell culture or data analysis.

Dr. Chris Mathes, V.P. and General Manager of Sophion Bioscience, Inc., says, "Since the installation in January, the QPatch system at the JHICC has been well received and is already enhancing the ion channel program of this illustrious academic group. We look forward to years of fruitful collaboration with the team at JHICC."

"Working with Sophion reminds me of collaborating with another ion channel group at an academic institution," added Dr. Min Li, Professor and Director of the JHICC. "We have been working on a number of voltage-gated and ligand-gated ion channels that are well known drug targets. Certainly, we have very high expectations for this new relationship with Sophion".