Amaxa to lead European partnership

Amaxa is to lead a partnership of eight European countries, it has been revealed.

The collaborative effort is to focus on the development of new devices for the screening of primary cells for use in the study of immunological and hepatic disorders.

Each of the eight firms involved is to take responsibility for a specific aspect of the development process from prototype to completed product.

Project coordinator Dr Birgit Nelsen-Salz explained: "Amaxa is the only institution worldwide which has the necessary knowledge and experience."

"We will ensure that the expertise brought by each partner will enable the collaboration to achieve the goal of providing powerful new tools for basic research," she added.

The firm also announced that it has been granted 2.75 million euros (1.85 million pounds) to invest into the scheme by the European Commission.

Amaxa was founded in 1998 in response to the lack of adequate technologies for gene transfer into primary cells.