Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) and Samsung Medical Center, one of South Korea's leading medical institutes, today agreed to collaborate on medicine and genetics research projects. The Department of Laboratory Medicine & Genetics Research, part of the Center for Future Medicine at Samsung Medical Center, will use Agilent's bio-analytical instruments to analyze clinical samples and develop novel clinical assays. Clinical assays are investigative procedures that measure how drugs or biochemical substances react or respond in human samples. "Based on our memoradum of understanding, projects such as the discovery and validation of protein biomarkers for applications in clinical trials, the development of methodology for applications involving hormones and vitamins, and assay development for a tumor marker for certain cancers and diseases will be undertaken at Samsung Medical Center in cooperation with Agilent," said professor Sung-Hwa Hong, executive vice president, Research & Development, Samsung Medical Center. "For the detailed and rigorous tests required for these research projects, Agilent will provide our top-end bio-analytical instruments, on-site and remote application, and technical support, as well as our research experts to work closely with professor Hong's team," said Rod Minett, general manager of Agilent's life sciences business in South Korea and the South Asia Pacific region. "We look forward to close collaboration with Samsung Medical Center so as to accelerate the advancement of science and medical developments, and ultimately to improve the quality of life for mankind." The Samsung Medical Center will use the following instruments from Agilent:
  • Agilent 6530 Accurate-Mass Q-TOF LC/MS (liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry), which is able to profile, identify, characterize and quantify compounds accurately and quickly.
  • Agilent 6430 Triple Quadrupole LC/MS System, which is well-suited for environments where parts-per-trillion sensitivity is required.
"In addition, researchers from both Samsung Medical Center and Agilent plan to work on joint research projects that evaluate novel and powerful analytical technologies for future uses in clinical environments," said professor Rudolf Grimm, Agilent's collaborations manager for South Korea and the South Asia Pacific region. Agilent is the leader in providing measurement solutions for metabolomics with a comprehensive product portfolio that spans the metabolomics workflow. Metabolomics is one of the fastest growing areas of life sciences research. Other areas of Agilent's life sciences business include genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and pharmaceutical analysis.

About Samsung Medical Center

The Samsung Medical Center was founded on Nov. 9, 1994, to improve the health of South Korea's people through the best medical service, advanced medical research, and development of outstanding medical talent. Samsung Medical Center is equipped with advanced medical service infrastructure and has been admitting 40 of the nation's top students yearly since March 1997. It is recognized as South Korea's top hospital in terms of care, research and education. It established the Samsung Cancer Center and Samsung Cancer Lab in 2008 and 2009, respectively; it is set to open the Samsung International Medical Center in 2015.