Midwest BioResearch expands business, moves to larger facility

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October 1, 2007

Due to rapid company growth, Midwest BioResearch, LLC has moved to a new
facility, the former Pfizer/Pharmacia/Searle site where many of MBR’s
staff once worked. The expansion is due to a marked increase in demand
for the company’s drug disposition and toxicology services at all stages
of drug research and development.

The 16,000 sq ft laboratory, located at the Illinois Science +
Technology Park in Skokie, is GLP-compliant and better enables MBR to
select and progress proteins and small-molecule therapeutics out of
discovery and through development faster and more efficiently. The lab
offers space for cell culture, sample handling, chromatography,
immunoassays, GLP archives and freezer storage protected by an
uninterrupted power supply.

The company has six founding scientists, managers and directors led by
Pharmacia’s former senior director of toxicology, Michael Schlosser, and
now employs more than 40 people. Since its inception in 2003, MBR has
conducted more than 80 GLP validations of protein and small-molecule
therapeutics.

“The fundamentals behind our growth include the fact that more big
companies are outsourcing in all areas, from preclinical to clinical,
and the emergence of small companies in need of the same services,” said
Schlosser. “These segments choose us primarily because of our focus on
specialized areas of drug disposition and toxicology and our ability to
provide strategic advice that moves their drugs faster and more
efficiently through discovery and development. We understand our
clients, why they need the data, and the pressure they are under.”

One of the company’s services that is seeing significant demand is its
new microAmes test, which saves time and money by fully predicting the
GLP regulatory Ames test using milligram quantities. Another example is
immunoanalysis, an area that is being fueled by rapid growth in protein
therapeutics.

MBR continues to pursue new capabilities to sustain its growth and plans
to add GMP analytical procedures to its services, as well as to
implement a fully integrated computerized laboratory information
management system (LIMS), and expand its immunoassay platform through
additional investments in new technologies, for example in
electrochemiluminescence detection systems.

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