Schlieren, Switzerland and Kyoto, Japan - April 5, 2014 - InSphero, Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. partner, to market the Cell³iMager in the US and Europe, simplifying growth and morphological profiling of 3D microtissues.

InSphero AG and Dainippon Screen (Kyoto, Japan) announced today they have reached a distribution agreement for InSphero to begin marketing Dainippon Screen's Cell³iMager in North America and Europe. Dainippon Screen selected InSphero based on their in-depth know-how pertaining to 3D microtissue biology and applications. The Cell³iMager is fully compatible with InSphero's GravityTRAP™ 3D microtissue assay platform and other 3D-cell culture plates, providing rapid, robust profiling of microtissue growth and morphology.

3D tumor microtissues or spheroids are increasingly used in drug discovery and development as a more representative biological model for testing drug sensitivity and efficacy. Size and morphology are important determinants to evaluate the biological behavior of 3D microtissues, particularly in development of anti-cancer drugs, where monitoring cell growth is a particularly critical endpoint. High-throughput, accurate assessment of 3D microtissue size and growth in these applications is currently limited by sequential, time-consuming and often manual optical measurements. 
The innovative Cell³iMager's high-resolution scanning optics provide rapid direct measurement of multiple endpoints, including microtissue diameter, area, pseudo-volume, and circularity at a resolution of up to 9600 dpi. The system can analyze four 96- or 384-well plates in a single run, in as little as one minute per plate, enabling fast and label-free visualization of even small size differences. The scanner software is tailored for the analysis of 3D microtissues, allowing adjustment of parameters such as focal plane, minimum and maximum object size, scan area, and resolution for developing protocols specific to a given tissue type or assay. 
The instrument is already broadly used in Japan and is now available in North America and Europe through InSphero's experienced sales team.

InSphero CEO and co-founder Dr. Jan Lichtenberg sees the agreement as an exciting next step toward making InSphero a total solution provider for the 3D cell culture marketplace. "Adding the Cell³iMager to our portfolio gets us closer to offering our customers a complete set of solutions for 3D cell based assays - from the assay-ready 3D cell model, to assay reagents and instruments for endpoint analysis." 
Mr. Kunihisa Hashimoto, General Manager of Dainippon Screen's Imaging and Solutions Division, noted the agreement with InSphero is also a major step for Dainippon Screen. "Combining InSphero's GravityTRAP™ plates and microtissues with the imaging technology of our Cell³iMager is sure to streamline and simplify research using 3D tissue cultures. We are excited to leverage InSphero's expertise in the 3D marketplace to help bring our innovative imaging system to North America and Europe."

InSphero
InSphero is a leading supplier of organotypic, biological in vitro 3D microtissues for highly predictive drug testing. The company, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, with subsidiaries in the USA and in Germany, currently counts all of the top 10 global pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies as customers. InSphero 3D Insight™ Microtissues enable more biologically relevant in vitro applications in efficacy and toxicology. 
The spin-off company of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich and the University Zurich has been recognized for its scientific and commercial achievements with a number of national and international awards and is also certified to the ISO 9001:2008 standard for its Quality Management System. For more information, please visit: www.insphero.com

Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd.
Dainippon Screen was established in 1943 and is currently one of the top 10 suppliers of semiconductor equipment, including wafer cleaning and annealing systems. It has expanded its base with core image processing, lithography, and cleaning technologies developed over the years, including businesses in flat panel display, printed circuit board, and media technologies. More recently, Dainippon Screen has leveraged its extensive technological experience in image acquisition and processing to develop innovative instruments for the cell biology market. For more information, please visit: www.screen.co.jp

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