MedTech Frontiers - June Seminar

The CellKey System

A Powerful Label-free Cell-Based Assay Platform for
Bio-pharmaceutical Drug Discovery Appications

About the Seminar:

Drug discovery, as practiced by the bio-pharmaceutical industry, is an innovative, highly mechanized and industrialized process. Yet, the return on nearly two decades of investment has been underwhelming, and evidence is mounting that the current discovery paradigm is unsustainable. One roadblock to greater clinical success from drug discovery is that mechanization of biological assays depends on a reductionist approach: Complex biological states are reduced to simple components, so as to be convenient and economical to measure.

Typically, a variety of detection labels (fluorescent, luminescent, radioactive) are added to cells and target molecules in a manner that alters their natural makeup. What results are data deficient in biological relevance that often fail to accurately model complicated disease states, thus setting the stage for clinical failure of newly discovered drugs.  New technologies are required to strike a better balance between throughput (i.e., economies of scale) and biological relevance.

One such technology is the CellKey™ System, a bioimpedance-based cellular analysis platform. The CellKey™ System is a label-free, universal assay technology capable of monitoring receptor activation in the native setting. High value cellular receptor targets can be analyzed in a fashion that does not require cell or molecular engineering of any sort.

At the core of the platform is Cellular Dielectric Spectroscopy (CDS), a technology that is exquisitely sensitive and enables greater biorelevance in cellular analysis. In this presentation we will discuss a brief history of electrical impedance technologies as applied to cellular assays and the CellKey™ platform. CellKey™ System features and benefits, as well as real-world case studies from four years of research and development experience will be highlighted.

About the Speakers:

Roger Tang has spent his career bridging the disciplines of biology and engineering in both academic and industrial environments. His recent professional experience includes applications and technology research and development in the areas of bioimpedance and optical instrumentation. He also has an extensive background in clinical imaging (primarily x-ray CT and molecular imaging). Currently, he coordinates the Research Group at the Sunnyvale site of MDS Analytical Technologies.

Its primary mission is to help develop innovative applications and technologies "to make a distinctive contribution to the health and well-being of people around the world." Roger received his PhD in Bioengineering from the Joint Graduate Group in Bioengineering at the University of California at Berkeley and San Francisco. He also holds degrees in Optical Sciences from the University of Arizona and Applied Physics from the California Institute of Technology.

Ryan McGuinness was trained in genetics and cell biology at the University of California at Davis.  Since 1988 he has worked in several biotechnology companies and spent time as a private research consultant. His research background encompasses broad areas of molecular cell biology including virology, gene therapy, cell-based therapeutics and receptor-mediated signal transduction. 

Ryan joined MDS Analytical Technologies in 2003 and currently holds the position of senior application scientist working at the forefront of label-free cell based assay technologies. In this role Ryan has contributed his expertise in molecular cell biology to the development of the CellKey™ System family of products and applications. Additionally, he has lead collaborations with well-known drug discovery teams from companies like Merck, Amgen, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca.