JALA 2013 Ten Breakthroughs in Innovation.

Montana Molecular was tapped last week for the quintessential A-List in the world of laboratory automation and drug discovery: The JALA 2013 Ten Breakthroughs in Innovation. The feature article from the February 2013 issue of  The Journal of Lab Automation cites Montana Molecular’s breakthrough multiplex assays for DAG and Ca2+.

The purpose of the Ten Breakthroughs in Innovation list is  “to honor scientific achievements that have made seminal impact toward addressing key biological and medical quandaries”.  We like that.

Why is Montana Molecular’s technology a breakthrough innovation?

Cells respond to drugs by activating a cascade of signaling molecules that relay messages within the cell. Most drug assays monitor a single end point, confirming only that signaling has occurred. Assays that monitor multiple components of drug signaling provide information about how and when signaling occurs. Specific information about the mechanism of drug signaling means more reliable drug discovery at a lower cost.  New technologies that measure these processes in living cells produce new insights about diseases and treatments.

These assays are robust enough for use on standard fluorescence plate readers or microscopes that are readily available in drug screening facilities and research labs. There is no need for specialized instrumentation, further reducing the cost of drug discovery.

About those nine other breakthrough innovations from places like MIT and Harvard?  We’re comfortable around giants. And we’re wondering as we look out our back door onto Bozeman Creek, “What fly would we use if we were  fishing the Charles?”